COVID: Nicki Minaj's controversial claim on vaccines causing impotence debunked by doctors

Rapper/singer Nicki Minaj skipped the Met Gala on Monday and explained the reasons for her absence from the event. Apart from revealing that she has COVID, the rapper said that she sat out of the event as it required the guests to be vaccinated, and maintained that she wasn't going to take the vaccine just to attend. Nicki also added some claims about the vaccine that has left netizens less than impressed. The Anaconda singer claimed that her cousin's friend in Trinidad took the vaccine and as a side effect he became impotent, causing his marriage to be called off. This account hasn't impressed doctors, however, with a number of them refuting Nicki Minaj online and while speaking to media publications, including Republic.

Nicki Minaj claims vaccine made her cousin's friend impotent 

Nicki Minaj via her Twitter wrote, "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." She also wrote that "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. Wear the mask with 2 strings that grip your head & face. Not that loose one."

Doctors completely dismiss Nicki Minaj's claims

Even as a number of doctors dismissed Nicki Minaj's claims on social media and while speaking to media publications, Republic World reached out to Dr. Shashank Joshi, a member of the Maharashtra Covid Task Force, about the claims made by the singer, and the canard that has been spread in some quarters, including in India by a prominent leader of the Samajwadi Party, on the effects of vaccines on men's fertility. Dr Joshi, who dismissed the notion in its entirity, and said "Anyone can make any claims, it has to be based on science and research and has to be published in journals. What happens is that when any type of injections are given to the person and they later get diagnosed with some disease, they put the blame on the vaccine. To make a claim that a vaccine has caused impotency is outrageous."

Additionally, People magazine also reached out to public health expert Dr. Leana Wen about the claims. Dr. Wen said, "It is just not true that getting the COVID-19 vaccine is associated with infertility in either males or females. There have been studies that have linked scrotal discomfort and low sperm count to having COVID-19. In addition, there has been an association between scrotal swelling and congestion to having COVID-19. So, to emphasize, these are not associated with the vaccine but with the disease."

Image: Instagram/@nickiminaj