Medical experts have called out Nicki Minaj's after she claimed her cousin's friend experienced swollen testicles after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.
The 38-year-old rapper took to social media on Monday night explaining why she would not be attending the 2021 Met Gala.
Minaj said: "They want you to get vaccinated for the Met. If I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met. It’ll be once I feel I’ve done enough research. I’m working on that now. In the meantime my loves, be safe.”
Advert
When defending her decision to wait before getting vaccinated, Minaj claimed her cousin from Trinidad is friends with a man who developed swollen testicles after taking the Covid-19 vaccine. After allegedly becoming impotent, the man's wedding was cancelled by the bride, Minaj claimed.
She tweeted: "My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it and became impotent. His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it and make sure you’re comfortable with your decision, not bullied."
Tyla has contacted reps for Nicki Minaj for comment.
Advert
However medical experts on Twitter have refuted the Super Bass rapper's anecdote, with many suggesting the swollen testicles are most likely due a different medical issue, like an STD.
Florian Krammer, a professor at the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai specialises in viruses and vaccines. He responded to Minaj’s now infamous tweet with: “Chlamydia is a more likely explanation - and may also explain why the relationship ended. While there is unfortunately no licensed vaccine against chlamydia yet, there are vaccines against other STDs, like HBV and HPV. Maybe spread that information instead of misinformation.”
While the Western Sydney Health tweeted an infographic with the list of Covid-19 symptoms in an effort to refute the information in Minaj's tweets.
Advert
"We promise to leave the rapping to @NICKIMINAJ if she leaves medicine to doctors and scientists," they tweeted.
Despite Minaj’s tweet implying the Covid vaccine can lead to impotence, when a man is unable to get or maintain an erection, research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that there is no evidence that any Covid-vaccine causes fertility problems in men, or women.
Impotence is not listed as a side effect from the Covid-19 vaccine by the NHS or World Health Organisation (WHO).
However, becoming infected with coronavirus itself could lead to male fertility issues.
Advert
Sexual health medical doctor responded to Minaj to refute Minaj's cousin's friend's claims about the vaccine. "I AM A BOARD CERTIFIED UROLOGIST. The vaccine does not cause orchitis (ie swollen balls). Something else caused that. Tons of data that getting COVID does affect semen parameters and might lead to infertility. Vaccines prevent COVID! Misinformation kills."
GP Dr. Amy Revene also refuted the claims from Nicki’s cousin. She spoke toTyla and emphasised the safety of the covid-19 vaccines. “Despite claims from Nicki Minaj that a family member's friend was rendered impotent from the COVID-19 vaccine, swollen testicles, impotence, and infertility are not caused by the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently being rolled out across the world.
"COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to billion people worldwide with no known recorded case of the aforementioned symptoms. Not even as a rare side effect. There are many causes of swollen testicles, impotence, and infertility – but not the vaccine.”
For more information about Covid-19 vaccines, please visit the World Health Organisation (WHO) website here.
Advert
You can also read about the vaccines guidelines on the official NHS website.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: News, Health, Celebrity