The CDC now authorizes and recommends the use of three different vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen) to prevent COVID-19 in the United States. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna vaccine are administered in two rounds of doses, with the Pfizer-BioNTech doses given 21 days apart and the Moderna doses given 28 days apart. The newly developed and approved Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine is administered in a single dose, with COVID-19 immunity expected 14 days after receiving the vaccine.
There are currently two other COVID-19 vaccines, AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, in large-scale (Phase 3) clinical trials with the hopes that these vaccines will be soon be approved and distributed in addition to the already-existing vaccines. While COVID-19 incidence is highest in young adults the mortality and hospitalization rates due to COVID-19 are highest in older adults. This data, as well as the limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines in the US, has led the CDC to provide recommendations to federal, state, and local governments in regards to which individuals should receive the vaccine first. These recommendations were put into place with the hopes of decreasing death and serious illness, enabling the functioning of society, and reducing COVID-19 burdens on people already faced with disparities. The first doses of COVID-19 vaccines (1a) are recommended to be given to healthcare personnel and residents of long-term care facilities (LTCF). The next phase (1b) includes frontline essential workers and people aged 75 years and older. Phase 1c includes people aged 65-74 years, people aged 16-64 years with underlying medical medical conditions, and other essential workers. Once vaccine availability increases, Phase 2, which includes people aged 16-64 years without high-risk medical conditions, should begin with the ultimate goal of everyone being able to easily get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Some important information regarding the vaccine:
The vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID because it does not contain the live virus that causes COVID-19. Rather it is mRNA based which means it teaches your cells how to make proteins that will trigger an immune response against COVID-19. This also means that once you receive the vaccine, you will not test positive for COVID-19 on a viral test. The COVID-19 vaccine will protect you from getting sick with COVID-19 because it instructs your immune system how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Even if you already had COVID-19 and recovered, you still need to get vaccinated. Data remains unclear on how long the antibodies from your exposure to COVID-19 will remain effective and so it is important to build protection against COVID-19 via vaccination. The COVID-19 vaccine will not alter your DNA because it is mRNA based and will not change or interact with your DNA. Even with the vaccine, it is imperative that you continue to wear masks and practice social distancing with individuals who have not been vaccinated/have pre-existing medical conditions. According to the CDC preliminary data has shown that fully vaccinated people can “visit with other fully vaccinated indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing, visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks and physical distancing, and refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure to COVID-19 if asymptomatic.”
The common side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine include pain and swelling in the arm where you received the vaccine, fever, chills, tiredness, and headache. As the supply of COVID-19 vaccines increases in the US, it is imperative that everyone who is eligible receives it as it will alleviate the stresses COVID-19 has placed on the daily functioning of our society.
Published: April, 2021