Nicki Minaj sent the internet into a frenzy earlier this week when she shared a thirdhand account of her cousin’s friend’s swollen testicles being linked to the covid-19 vaccine.
On Wednesday, Trinidad & Tobago’s Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh, spoke out in response, stating that he nor his team could find any truth to this. He even shared that time was wasted looking into the false claim.
“We had to check and make sure that what she was claiming was either true or false,” Deyalsingh said in a news conference. “Unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim. As far as we know at this point in time, there has been no such reported either side effect or adverse event.”
He continued, “What was sad about this is that it wasted our time yesterday trying to track down, because we take all these claims seriously, whether it’s on social media or mainstream media,” he said. “As we stand now, there is absolutely no reported such side effect or adverse event of testicular swelling in Trinidad, or I dare say anywhere. None that we know of anywhere else in the world.”
The Minister of Health also alluded that “influencers” like Nicki should be mindful of the information they share with their audience. This criticism follows a group of medical professionals, including Dr. Fauci, who have already debunked the “false claims.”
“Her tweet certainly did not help because people like her are social influencers and they do carry some sway,” Deyalsingh said on Wednesday, according to local outlet CNC3. “So it certainly didn’t help, and will make our job a little harder, which we don’t need right now.”
