Dr. Fauci Reponds to Nicki Minaj’s Vaccine Skepticism

Chief White House medical advisor Anthony Fauci responded to Nicki Minaj’s vaccine worries after her comments on Twitter sparked controversy on Monday (September 13).

As we earlier reported, the rapper tweeted her thoughts about getting vaccinated for the Met Gala and said that if she decides to get vaccinated, it won’t be for the Met and it’ll be after further research.

“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,” the “Seeing Green” rapper wrote and continued to encourage fans to wear masks. “I’m working on that now. In the meantime my loves, be safe. Wear the mask with 2 strings that grips your head & face. Not that loose one.”

Nicki shared a story about her cousin’s friend from Trinidad who became “impotent” after taking the COVID vaccine. The rapper tweeted, “My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & 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 & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied.”

CNN’s Jake Tapper questioned Fauci about the tweet, asking whether there is any evidence that the Covid vaccines approved for use in the U.S. could cause such problems.

“The answer to that, Jake, is a resounding no,” Fauci responded. “There is no evidence that it happens, nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine that it would happen, so the answer to your question is no.”

“She should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis as except a one-off antidote and that’s not what science is all about,” Fauci added.

Tapper asked Fauci how difficult it is to combat misinformation that popular celebrities like Minaj, who has more than 22 million followers on Twitter alone.

Fauci said it is “very difficult” to combat the misinformation and the only way to counter falsities is to “provide a lot of correct information” and “debunk these kinds of claims which may be innocent on her part -- I'm not blaming her for anything -- but she should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis as except a one-off anecdote and that's not what science is all about.”