You cannot get Covid-19 from the vaccine. None of the leading vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen) contain the actual SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA), the genetic material that our cells read to make proteins. Once the proteins, which don’t cause disease, are produced, the body launches an immune response against the virus, enabling the person to develop immunity.

This recent article in the New York Times gives a great overview of how mRNA vaccines work.

This depends on a number of factors, including the supply in your area at the time you’re vaccinated and whether certain vaccines are found to be more effective in certain populations, such as older adults.

If you are in the first group of people vaccinated, your booster shot will be set aside for you and won’t be given to someone else. Later, when supplies are more plentiful, reserves probably won’t be necessary. Gen. Gustave F. Perna, the chief operating officer for Operation Warp Speed (the federal effort to speed a vaccine to market) has said that after the first doses are given, the doses earmarked for the second shot will be set aside to be given three weeks later. An additional 500,000 backup doses will also be held in reserve, in case they are unexpectedly needed.

You won’t get the full protection from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine until about a week after the second dose, based on clinical trial data. The researchers found that the vaccine’s protection started to emerge about ten days after the first dose, but it only reached 52 percent efficacy, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. A week after the second dose, the efficacy rose to 95 percent.

It is recommended that you inform your vaccination provider about all medical conditions, including if you:

• Have any allergies
• Have a fever
• Have a bleeding disorder or are on a blood-thinner
• Are immunocompromised or are taking a medicine that affects your immune system
• Are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant
• Are breastfeeding
• Have received another Covid-19 vaccine

It’s safe, and probably even beneficial, for anyone who has had COVID-19 to get the vaccine at some point, experts said. Although people who have contracted the virus do have immunity, it is too soon to know how long it lasts. So for now, it makes sense for them to get the shot. The question is when. Some members of the CDC advisory committee have suggested people who have had COVID-19 in the past 90 days should be toward the back of the line.

People with severe allergies who have experienced anaphylaxis in the past should talk to their doctors about how to safely get the vaccine and what precautions to take. The FDA. Has said it would require Pfizer to increase its monitoring for anaphylaxis and submit data on it once the vaccine comes into use. Fewer than one in a million recipients of other vaccines a year in the U.S. have an anaphylactic reaction, said Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Among those who participated in the Pfizer trials, a very small number of people had allergic reactions. A document published by the FDA said that 0.63 percent of participants who received the vaccine reported potential allergic reactions, compared to 0.51 percent of people who received a placebo. In Pfizer’s late-stage clinical trial, one of the 18,801 participants who received the vaccine had an anaphylactic reaction, according to safety data published by the FDA on December 10, 2020. None in the placebo group did.

The CDC and FDA encourage the public to report possible side effects (called adverse events) to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). This national system collects these data to look for adverse events that are unexpected, appear to happen more often than expected, or have unusual patterns of occurrence. Healthcare providers will be required to report certain adverse events following vaccination to VAERS. Healthcare providers also have to adhere to any revised safety reporting requirements according to FDA’s conditions of authorized use throughout the duration of any Emergency Use Authorization; these requirements would be posted on FDA’s website.

The CDC is also implementing a new smartphone-based tool called v-safe to check-in on people’s health after they receive a COVID-19 vaccine. When you receive your vaccine, you should also receive a v-safe information sheet telling you how to enroll in v-safe. If you enroll, you will receive regular text messages directing you to surveys where you can report any problems or adverse reactions you have after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

As of May 14, 2021, the New York State Clinical Advisory Task Force has approved the use of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for 12-15-year-olds. Southern Tier Connect members with children in this age range should contact their care manager if they wish to make a vaccine appointment.

If you are a parent with children in this age range, we are sure you must have questions regarding safety and efficacy. The below article does a good job of helping answer some of the questions you may have and help alleviate some hesitation.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/11/health/questions-covid-vaccine-younger-teens-wellness/index.html