Can you ‘detox’ from the COVID-19 vaccine?

One peculiar phenomenon that has developed out of this recent landscape is that some people have started looking for information on how to “detox” from the vaccine after they have received it, particularly if they had not wanted to have it in the first place.

A TikTok video featuring claims that people who had had the COVID-19 vaccine should take complex “detox” baths, containing, among other things, borax, hit the headlines in November. However, that video was not the only example of emerging claims that people should detox from the vaccine to avoid unwanted side effects.

Suggestions for “detoxes” after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine ranged from borax baths to detox diets. Suggested detox diets included high fat diets to “bind the toxins” in the vaccines, alongside supplements, including zinc and vitamins C and D.

According to some media reports, some even suggested cupping the site of the injection to remove the vaccine.

More extreme claims suggest that people who have had the vaccine need to take a prophylactic dose of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to counteract what they believe to be a negative impact of the vaccine on their immune system. The FDA does not authorize the use of ivermectinTrusted Source or hydroxychloroquineTrusted Source to combat COVID-19 but rather advises against using ivermectin for this purpose.

While the rise of this misinformation may seem baffling to some, Prof. Monica Gandhi, professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco and an HIV doctor, feels that social media is partly to blame.

Speaking to Medical News Today, she pointed to the fact that there was always misinformation about HIV from high profile academics, and at one point, the President of South Africa, “but it didn’t end up having this reach that you can have when you have social media platforms, with people with MD and Ph.D. after their names who are allowed to put out there that mRNA and proteins stay around in your body, that it is toxic and that it kills other cells.”

She added that while there is a lot of anger in the U.S. towards people who are not vaccinated, she just feels sadness about the situation:

“If you’re very worried about these vaccines, if you’ve been convinced by someone who has an MD after their name that they’re dangerous, then you’ll do everything in your power, especially if there’s a mandate, to detox or to get that protein or the mRNA out of your body. I mean, you’re really, really worried. That is what misinformation does; it truly worries you.”

Nearly 3 out of 4 people in the United States have received a vaccination against COVID-19. Over 9 out of 10 of those who said they intended to get vaccinated in early 2021 have taken at least one dose.

Concerns raisedTrusted Source in the early summer about the low number of people receiving a vaccination against COVID-19 were relieved in August 2021 when the White House claimed a 70% increase in the daily average of first dose vaccinations compared to the previous month. Much of this uptake took place in areas that had previously had the lowest vaccination rates.

While the White House pointed to the increase in vaccine mandates for the boost in uptake, the September results from KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, a study about attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines, considered the fear over the Delta variant to be behind the demand for the vaccine.

Whatever the motivation, the White House has continued to press ahead with increased mandates for vaccination in many settings.

Although the policies from the Biden Administration have experienced some setbacks, many businesses across the U.S. have already implemented them. About 1 in 4 workers say their employer required them to have a COVID-19 vaccination in October 2021, which, according to the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, is an increase of 16% since June.

Against this political backdrop, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized vaccination for children aged 5-11Trusted Source in October and booster shots for all adultsTrusted Source in November.

This means that many people who may previously have been vaccine-hesitant have faced additional pressures to receive the vaccine.

The KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor revealed that while 7 in 10 unvaccinated workers said they would leave their job if their employer asked them to get vaccinated, just 1 in 20 unvaccinated workers say they have actually done so,

“More than a third (37%) of unvaccinated workers (5% of adults overall) say they would leave their job if their employer required them to get a vaccine or get tested weekly, a share that rises to 7 in 10 unvaccinated workers (9% of all adults) if weekly testing is not an option,” their report also found.

Although vaccination rates might be slowing down, vaccination continues. This suggests that some people who are getting vaccines may not have planned on doing so previously.

 

Vaccinated but still hesitant

One peculiar phenomenon that has developed out of this recent landscape is that some people have started looking for information on how to “detox” from the vaccine after they have received it, particularly if they had not wanted to have it in the first place.

A TikTok video featuring claims that people who had had the COVID-19 vaccine should take complex “detox” baths, containing, among other things, borax, hit the headlines in November. However, that video was not the only example of emerging claims that people should detox from the vaccine to avoid unwanted side effects.

Suggestions for “detoxes” after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine ranged from borax baths to detox diets. Suggested detox diets included high fat diets to “bind the toxins” in the vaccines, alongside supplements, including zinc and vitamins C and D.

According to some media reports, some even suggested cupping the site of the injection to remove the vaccine.

More extreme claims suggest that people who have had the vaccine need to take a prophylactic dose of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to counteract what they believe to be a negative impact of the vaccine on their immune system. The FDA does not authorize the use of ivermectinTrusted Source or hydroxychloroquineTrusted Source to combat COVID-19 but rather advises against using ivermectin for this purpose.

While the rise of this misinformation may seem baffling to some, Prof. Monica Gandhi, professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco and an HIV doctor, feels that social media is partly to blame.

Speaking to Medical News Today, she pointed to the fact that there was always misinformation about HIV from high profile academics, and at one point, the President of South Africa, “but it didn’t end up having this reach that you can have when you have social media platforms, with people with MD and Ph.D. after their names who are allowed to put out there that mRNA and proteins stay around in your body, that it is toxic and that it kills other cells.”

She added that while there is a lot of anger in the U.S. towards people who are not vaccinated, she just feels sadness about the situation:

“If you’re very worried about these vaccines, if you’ve been convinced by someone who has an MD after their name that they’re dangerous, then you’ll do everything in your power, especially if there’s a mandate, to detox or to get that protein or the mRNA out of your body. I mean, you’re really, really worried. That is what misinformation does; it truly worries you.”