Busting the Myth: The Covid 19 Vaccine is Not Linked To Breast Cancer

It is not a myth that Black women have increased risk of dying from breast cancer. But in the most recent saga of “the Covid vaccine causes X, Y, and of course Z” the circulating rumor is that the vaccine causes breast cancer.

Studies show there is no connection between the Covid vaccine and breast cancer. However, it may cause the results of your screening mammogram to be falsely abnormal.

How does this happen?

After receiving the vaccine, your lymph nodes may become enlarged for a couple of weeks. This is your body's way of gearing up protection against the virus, and is a natural process. The lymph node enlargement may be visible on your mammogram, and may result in a “false positive” result.

Be sure to:

✅ Schedule your annual mammogram! Speak to your doctor about how frequent and at what age you should start.

✅ Schedule your mammogram before your vaccine, or wait 6 weeks after the last dose to avoid false positives.

✅ If abnormalities, false positives, or real positives are detected on your screening mammogram, be sure to follow up with your doctor.

Vaccination rates among people of color are among the lowest in the country. With the highly contagious delta variant on the rise, and cases of Covid rising again, it is more important than ever that we get vaccinated!

Visit https://www.vaccines.gov/ to find out where you can get your vaccine.