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Getting In The Know About COVID Vaccines
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a direct impact on all of our lives over the past year. Now, with the development of COVID vaccines, we have a brighter future to look forward to.
There have been many pre-cautionary methods used to slow the spread of this deadly virus, such as wearing a mask, practicing safe social distancing and washing our hands often. However, the vaccine is our most important preventative step to protect ourselves, co-workers, friends, and loved ones from COVID-19.
As with any new vaccine there are usually many questions and concerns to follow.
What we know:
- All COVID vaccines currently available in the United States have been shown to be highly effective at preventing serious COVID-19 infection.
- All COVID vaccines that are in development are being carefully evaluated in clinical trials and will be authorized or approved only if they make it substantially less likely you’ll get COVID-19.
- Based on what we know about vaccines for other diseases and early data from clinical trials, experts believe that getting a COVID vaccine may also help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19.
- Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you.
- Experts continue to conduct more studies about the effect of COVID vaccination on severity of illness from COVID-19, as well as its ability to keep people from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.
The More You Know: Breaking Down False Myths
- The vaccine has been rushed and not enough testing was done, so it cannot be safe. False.
While the timeline from the start of the pandemic to the approval of the vaccine has been faster than any other vaccine, the technology has been in development for many years. When mRNA vaccines were developed (the technology behind Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines) the technology was touted as a quick and efficient method to produce vaccines at unprecedented speed, and this proved true for COVID-19. Pfizer and Moderna have been working in this space for many years, and it was because of their strong foundation in this technology that they were able to generate a vaccine in less than a year.
The COVID vaccines, like all drugs that are approved for human use, undergo significant scrutiny from various independent evaluators to ensure efficacy and safety during the clinical trials, and then by the FDA for approval or authorization. After FDA approval or authorization, safety and efficacy continue to be monitored for adverse events. Some of the COVID vaccines being tested in clinical trials were halted due to serious illness in a few subjects; however the illnesses were not associated with the vaccine.
- We do not know anything about the side effects. False.
Numerous studies on thousands of people have been conducted and millions have already received it without adverse reactions. In some cases, subjects did report side effects such as, soreness and swelling at the injection site, fever, chills, tiredness and headache, which should go away after a few days. This is exactly what you want to happen because it means your immune system is active and doing its job.
At SIHF Healthcare we care about your health and safety, so by becoming more proactive in protecting your health and the health of others we can make life-saving differences during this pandemic together. For more information on SIHF Healthcare and the COVID vaccine, please click here.
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