(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The nation's top medical officer joined Illinois and Chicago city officials Tuesday in vouching for the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines that are being rolled out across the country.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams acknowledges there is skepticism from some communities, including minority groups, about the vaccines that recently were granted emergency federal approval. A limited supply initially is going to inoculate medical professionals, including this in Chicago and Illinois.
Chicago Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady addressed unfounded rumors about the composition of the vaccines — that there may be nano technology, preservatives, fetal material or pork products in the serum.
Not true, she said.
"What is in this vaccine is the mRNA and then the fats, the salts and the sugar that help deliver that mRNA," Arwady said.
The messenger RNA in the vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna effectively teach the body how to repel an infection from the novel coronavirus.
Adams' visit comes as the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 6,239 new confirmed or probable cases of coronavirus and 116 additional deaths from COVID-19.






