KEY THINGS TO KNOW
Vaccines continue to reduce a person’s risk of contracting the virus that causes COVID-19. Here are some important factors that might be helpful!
Vaccines are widely accessible.
Vaccines are safe
Vaccines are effective
Vaccines with Pregnancy
You may have side effects after vaccination
If you are fully vaccinated you can resume many activities
Protect yourself and people around you
New Omicron Variant
Vaccines are widely accessible.
- Everyone aged 5 years and older should get a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible.
Vaccines are safe
- COVID-19 vaccines were developed using science that has been around for decades.
- COVID-19 vaccines are not experimental. They went through all the required stages of clinical trials.
- COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials. The vaccines met the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support approval or authorization of a vaccine.
Vaccines are effective
COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of COVID-19 and its potentially severe complications. All COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for use in the United States helped protect adults and children 5 years and older against COVID-19, including severe illness, in clinical trial settings. So far, studies that have looked at how COVID-19 vaccines work in real-world conditions (vaccine effectiveness studies) have shown that these vaccines are working well.
Most vaccine effectiveness data now available are related to mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) because these vaccines have been available longer. CDC and other experts continue to study the effectiveness of both mRNA vaccines and the Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen (J&J/Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine in real-world conditions.
Vaccines with Pregnancy
- COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people 5 years and older, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future.
- Evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy has been growing. These data suggest that the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy.
- There is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men.
- Pregnant and recently pregnant people are more likely to get severely ill with COVID-19 compared with non-pregnant people.
- Getting a COVID-19 vaccine can protect you from severe illness from COVID-19.
You may have side effects after vaccination
- These are normal and should go away in a few days.
- Reported side effects to COVID-19 vaccines have mostly been mild to moderate and short-lasting. They include: fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, diarrhea, and pain at the injection site.
If you are fully vaccinated you can resume many activities
- You should still wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission to maximize protection from the Delta variant and possibly spreading it to others.
- Fully vaccinated people with breakthrough infections from this variant appear to be infectious for a shorter period.
Protect yourself and people around you
- Particularly people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
- Get vaccinated and wear masks indoors in public spaces to reduce the spread of this variant.
New Omicron Variant
Infection and Spread
- How easily does Omicron spread? The Omicron variant likely will spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and how easily Omicron spreads compared to Delta remains unknown. CDC expects that anyone with Omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms.
- Will Omicron cause more severe illness? More data are needed to know if Omicron infections, and especially reinfections and breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated, cause more severe illness or death than infection with other variants.
- Will vaccines work against Omicron? Current vaccines are expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths due to infection with the Omicron variant. However, breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated are likely to occur. With other variants, like Delta, vaccines have remained effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death. The recent emergence of Omicron further emphasizes the importance of vaccination and boosters.
- Will treatments work against Omicron? Scientists are working to determine how well existing treatments for COVID-19 work. Based on the changed genetic make-up of Omicron, some treatments are likely to remain effective while others may be less effective.
THREE KINDS OF VACCINES
Pfizer-BioNTech
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People 5 years and older
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For 5 - 11 years old - 2 Shots Given 3 weeks(21 days) apart
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For 12+ years old - 2 Shots Given 3 - 8 weeks(21 days) apart
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Fully vaccinated 2 weeks after your shots
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Booster is available for 12 years and older
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Booster shot should be at least 5 months after completing your primary COVID Vaccination Series
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A person ages 5–11 years is considered up to date after completing their primary series.
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A person ages 12+ years is considered up to date right after getting their booster dose.
Moderna
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People 18 years and older
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2 Shots Given 4–8 weeks apart
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Fully vaccinated 2 weeks after your shots
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Booster is available for 18 years and older
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At least 5 months after completing your primary COVID Vaccination Series
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A person ages 18+ years is considered up to date right after getting their booster dose.
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen
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People 18 years and older
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1 Shot
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Fully vaccinated 2 weeks after your shots
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Booster is available for 18 years and older
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At least 2 months after completing your primary COVID Vaccination Series
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A person ages 18+ years is considered up to date right after getting their booster dose.
VACCINATION MYTHS
Below Vaccination Myths are collected and circulated on the internet, and the answers are from CDC’s “Bust Common Myths and Learn the Facts”
ANS: None of the COVID-19 vaccines contain the live virus that causes COVID-19 so a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19.
It uses the mRNA vaccines, such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, work differently than other types of vaccines, but they still trigger an immune response inside your body. This type of vaccine is new, but research and development on it has been under way for decades.
The mRNA vaccines do not contain any live viruses. Instead, they work by teaching our cells to make a harmless piece of a “spike protein,” which is found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19. After making the protein piece, cells display it on their surface. Our immune system then recognizes that it does not belong there and responds to get rid of it. When an immune response begins, antibodies are produced, creating the same response that happens in a natural infection.
In contrast to mRNA vaccines, many other vaccines use a piece of, or weakened version of, the germ that the vaccine protects against. This is how the measles and flu vaccines work. When a weakened or small part of the virus is introduced to your body, you make antibodies to help protect against future infection.
ANS: No. COVID-19 vaccines do not contain microchips. Vaccines are developed to fight against disease and are not administered to track your movement. Vaccines work by stimulating your immune system to produce antibodies, exactly like it would if you were exposed to the disease. After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to that disease, without having to get the disease first.
ANS: No. Receiving a COVID-19 vaccine will not make you magnetic, including at the site of vaccination which is usually your arm. COVID-19 vaccines do not contain ingredients that can produce an electromagnetic field at the site of your injection. All COVID-19 vaccines are free from metals.
ANS: No. COVID-19 vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way. Both mRNA and viral vector COVID-19 vaccines deliver instructions (genetic material) to our cells to start building protection against the virus that causes COVID-19. However, the material never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA is kept.
ANS: Yes. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for everyone 5 years of age or older, including people who are trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future, as well as their partners. Currently, no evidence shows that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems (problems trying to get pregnant) in women or men.
ANS: Virus does not discriminate. Unfortunately, many young and healthy people have died from the COVID-19.
ANS: You should get a COVID-19 vaccine, even if you have already had COVID-19 because:
Research has not yet shown how long you are protected from getting COVID-19 again after you recover from COVID-19. Vaccination helps protect you even if you’ve already had COVID-19.
ANS: In general, people are considered fully vaccinated:
- 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
- 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine
ANS: Accurate vaccine information is critical and can help stop common myths and rumors.
It can be difficult to know which sources of information you can trust. Before considering vaccine information on the Internet, check that the information comes from a credible source and is updated on a regular basis from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/evalwebs.htm
ANS: Although infected vaccinated people can spread COVID-19 to others, they are far less likely to catch COVID-19 in the first place. Breakthrough infections also tend to be contagious for a shorter period of time.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS
You may have some side effects, which are normal signs that your body is building protection. These side effects may affect your ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days. Some people have no side effects. Below are Common Side Effects:
Pain
Tiredness
Redness
Headache
Swelling
Muscle Pain
Chills and Fever
Nausea
On the Arm where you got the shot
Rest of your Body
AFTER YOU'RE FULLY VACCINATED
Even you are fully vaccinated, there are still precautions to take to maximize the protections
COVID-19 vaccines teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. It typically takes 2 weeks after vaccination for the body to build protection (immunity) against the virus that causes COVID-19. That means it is possible a person could still get COVID-19 before or just after vaccination and then get sick because the vaccine did not have enough time to build protection. People are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, or 2 weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
- You can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.
- To reduce the risk of being infected with the Delta variant and possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.
- You might choose to wear a mask regardless of the level of transmission if you have a weakened immune system or if, because of your age or an underlying medical condition, you are at increased risk for severe disease, or if a member of your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease, or is unvaccinated.
- If you travel in the United States, you do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
Some people in your family need to continue to take steps to protect themselves from COVID-19, including:
- Anyone not fully vaccinated, including children under 5 who cannot be vaccinated yet
- People with weakened immune systems or underlying medical conditions