And certainly, it is safer than getting COVID-19, he adds. “We can say that the vaccine is very safe,” says Dr. These are actually good signs that your immune system is responding to the vaccine the way it should and they usually go away in a day or two. Sometimes they also cause flu-like symptoms like a slight fever, chills, muscle aches, and a headache. Like other vaccines, the shots can cause pain where the needle went in. Are there any side effects?Īpart from the allergic reactions, side effects have been mild. The CDC recommends that all others get the vaccine, especially those at high risk for complications from COVID-19. Because a few people have had potentially serious allergic reactions to one or the other of the vaccines, the CDC is recommending that people who had such a reaction to the first dose of a vaccine shouldn’t get a second dose. Who should and should not get a vaccine?Īuthorities approved the Pfizer vaccine for people 16 and over, while the Moderna vaccine is approved for those 18 and over, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ![]() Experts are estimating that about 70 percent to 80 percent of the population need to be immunized to get to this goal, though no one really knows the exact number, says Dr. That’s when enough people are immune to the virus that it no longer spreads as easily or widely. Vaccines can end the pandemic (though they won’t eradicate the virus) by helping us achieve herd immunity. “Based on the amount of disease spreading…it is unlikely we would be able to return to a real sense of normalcy for quite some time without the vaccine,” he says. “The COVID-19 pandemic has altered our way of life in ways not seen in over a decade,” says Alex McDonald, MD, a practicing family physician in San Bernardino, California. The virus has infected more than 22 million people in the United States and is still spreading wildly, causing 375,000 deaths and counting. To put it simply, we need vaccines to stop SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, from spreading in order to end the pandemic. We still need more studies on whether the existing and upcoming vaccines will cover these variants, but preliminary research published this month in the preprint bioRvix, indicates that the Pfizer vaccine, at least, is effective against the new mutations. Recently, two new strains of the virus have emerged: one first identified in the U.K. Will the vaccines protect against new variants of the virus? Here are the best face masks you’ll actually want to wear. ![]() That’s why we’ll still have to wear masks and practice social distancing even after getting vaccines. Baumgarten, MD, medical director of infection control and prevention at Ochsner Health in New Orleans. ![]() Each is about 95 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 after two doses, which means that there were 95 percent fewer cases of COVID-19 in members of the clinical-trials group who got the vaccine compared with those who got a placebo.Įxperts don’t yet know if these vaccines protect against the asymptomatic spread of the virus, how long the immunity will last, and how well the vaccine works in specific subgroups of people, such as those with weakened immune systems, says Katherine L. So far, the United States has two vaccines for COVID-19: one from Moderna and one from Pfizer. You can also find the COVID-19 vaccine at Walmart soon, too. One of those is Costco Wholesale, which has locations all across the United States. In November, the Department of Health and Human Services partnered with several large chain pharmacies to make the vaccines widely available. Right now, health officials are focused on vaccinating health care workers, people in nursing homes, and older Americans (75 years and older, or 65 and older depending on your state), but hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, the rest of the public will be eligible. That means an end to the pandemic may be in sight. Two highly effective vaccines for COVID-19 are available and there’s no doubt that more are on the way, says William Schaffner, MD, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
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