The government of Trinidad and Tobago has finally responded to Nicki Manj's claim that the Covid-19 vaccine resulted in her cousin's friend's "swollen testicles".
The Trinidadian-born rapper, 38, caused a storm across social media that spread to various international government officials on Monday (September 13) after she tweeted to claim that her cousin's friend had experienced the side effect, BuzzFeed News reports.
Now, in a televised update on Wednesday (September 16), health officials from Trinidad and Tobago said they had "wasted so much time" trying to get to the bottom of the claim.
"As we stand now, there is absolutely no reported such side effect or adverse event of testicular swelling in Trinidad," Trinidad and Tobago Health Minister Dr. Terrence Deyalsingh. "Unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim."
Watch the government's response to Minaj's claim below:The rapper tweeted on Monday that she would be refraining from getting vaccinated until she has done more 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. 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," she tweeted to her 22.7 million followers.
Minaj then wrote that her cousin had chosen not to get the vaccine because a friend "became impotent", and as a result, his fiancé went on to end their engagement.
The rapper said that the unidentified man's "testicles became swollen" and then advised her millions of followers to "make sure you're comfortable with ur [sic] decision" before getting vaccinated.
The efficacy and safety of Covid-19 vaccines have been repeatedly confirmed by the CDC and various independent studies, and it is recommended as the best way to fight the ongoing pandemic and reduce the symptoms of Covid-19.
Despite the fears of the vaccines causing infertility or sexual dysfunction, they have also been disproven by various other studies.
However, despite Minaj's claims about her cousin's friend being completely unfounded, she has stood by them, and even offered to arrange a meeting between him and Jimmy Kimmel for "the right price".