Frequently Asked Questions About the COVID-19 Vaccine
Updated 2/2/21
Availability
Q. When will I be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine?
A. Learn about the
COVID-19 Vaccine at St. Luke's.
Q. Why isn’t the vaccine available to everyone?
A. Eventually, the vaccine will be available to everyone. In order to get
to that point, St. Luke’s must follow strict guidance from the State
of Minnesota regarding who we are able to give the vaccine to. This is
directly related to the current supply of vaccine available. To learn
more about vaccine distribution in our region, visit:
Q. Who prioritized who is eligible?
A. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee
on Immunization Practices (ACIP) determined the priority groups that will
be getting vaccine first. Then, the
Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Advisory Group reviewed the guidelines and made detailed recommendations for how to apply
the guidelines in Minnesota.
Vaccine Specifics
Q. How does the COVID-19 vaccine work?
A. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which have been approved for emergency
use, are mRNA vaccines, a relatively new type of vaccine that was first
used in the 1990s. Itcontains instructions for how to make a harmless
protein that is unique to the virus, but which can help train our immune
systems to combat COVID-19. Your body recognizes that this protein should
not be there and builds antibodies, which will remember how to fight the
virus that causes COVID-19 if you are exposed to it in the future. More
information about COVID-19 vaccines can be found here:
cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/
Q. Which vaccine is St. Luke’s using?
A. St. Luke’s is using the Pfizer vaccine, which is a 2-dose regimen,
with the second vaccine to be administered 21 days later. The second dose
is critical for long-term effectiveness.
Q: Are there any reasons I should wait to have the vaccine?
A. There are a few reasons why you may need to wait to receive a vaccine:
- If you currently have COVID-19 or COVID-19 symptoms
- If you are quarantined because of an exposure to COVID-19
- If you have received a live virus vaccine in the past 4 weeks (i.e. MMR, varicella)
- If you have received Monoclonal Antibody Therapy or Convalescent Plasma in the past 90 days
Q. Can the COVID-19 vaccine be given to pregnant or breastfeeding women?
A. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, you should consult with your doctor.
The Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM) recommends that those who
are prioritized for vaccination be offered the current mRNA vaccine if
pregnant. Additionally, the Academy for Immunization Practices (ACIP)
stated that those who are recommended to receive the COVID-19 vaccine
and are pregnant or breastfeeding may choose to be vaccinated.
While there are no data yet on the safety of mRNA vaccines on pregnant or breastfeeding women and infants, mRNA vaccines are not considered live virus vaccines and are not thought to be a risk to pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Q. What are the Pfizer vaccine ingredients?
A. The vaccine contains the following ingredients:
- Nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (modRNA) encoding the viral spike glycoprotein (S) of SARS-CoV-2
- Lipids: ((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate), 2-[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide, 1,2-distearoyl-snglycero-3-phosphocholine, and cholesterol)
- Salts: potassium chloride, monobasic potassium phosphate, sodium chloride, dibasic sodium phosphate dehydrate
- Sucrose
Q. If I have access to both the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines, which
one should I choose?
A. Both the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccine are very similar in terms of
side effects and efficacy. St. Luke’s is using Pfizer.
Vaccine Effectiveness
Q. When will I have protection from COVID-19 after the vaccines?
A. It takes time for your body to build protection after any vaccine. COVID-19
vaccines that require 2 shots may not protect you until 1-2 weeks after
the second shot.
Q. Can the COVID-19 vaccine give me a COVID-19 infection?
A. No, neither the Pfizer nor Moderna vaccines use a live COVID-19 virus.
Q. What are the risks of not getting vaccinated?
A. While many people who get COVID-19 have only a mild illness, others
may get a
severe illness or they may even die. There is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect
you, even if you are not at
increased risk of severe complications. If you get sick, you also may spread the disease to friends, family,
and others around you.
Q. How can I protect myself from getting COVID-19 before I can receive
the vaccine?
A. You should continue to follow recommendations to decrease your risk
of acquiring COVID-19 by covering your nose and mouth with a mask when
around others outside of your household, avoiding close contact with people
who are sick, staying at least 6 feet away from others, avoiding crowds
and washing your hands frequently.
Vaccine Side Effects
Q. What are the common responses to the COVID-19 vaccine?
A. You may have some minor side effects, which are normal signs that your
body is building protection. The common responses are: pain or swelling
in the arm where you got your shot, fever, chills, fatigue, headache,
muscle aches, and joint aches. These are typically mild to moderate and
generally resolve within 1-2 days. Responses are more common after the
2nd dose, and are more frequent and severe in 18-55 year olds than those
greater than 55 years.
Cough, shortness of breath, a runny nose, sore throat, loss of taste or smell are NOT consistent with post-vaccination symptoms.
Q. Is it safe to get the second shot if I had a reaction to the first dose?
A. Yes, you should get the second dose even if you had side effects from
the first dose, unless a vaccine provider or your doctor tells you not
to get a second shot. When you go in for your second dose, be sure to
let the vaccinator know what side affects you had.
Q. Will the vaccine cause sterility or infertility?
A. Social media articles have circulated regarding the vaccine’s
potential impact on infertility. However, the claims are not based on
any reliable scientific evidence. There is no scientific evidence from
the current studies that the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine causes infertility in
men or women.
Vaccine for those who had COVID-19 or are feeling ill
Q. If I have already had COVID-19 and recovered, do I still need to get
vaccinated?
A. Yes. There is not enough information currently available to say if or
for how long after infection someone is protected from getting COVID-19
again (called natural immunity). Early evidence suggests natural immunity
from COVID-19 may not last very long, but more studies are needed to better
understand this. Since natural immunity is known to be good for at least
3 months after contracting COVID-19, those who were previously infected
with COVID-19 can elect to delay their vaccine up to 90 days from their
positive test if they so choose.
You should be well, fever-free and not in an isolation or quarantine period when you get your COVID-19 vaccine. Those who received Monoclonal Antibody Therapy or Convalescent Plasma treatment will have to wait 90 days to receive the vaccine.
Q. Do I have to be symptom-free to get the vaccine?
A. Like any other vaccine, you don’t want to have a fever or obvious
illness – otherwise you won’t know what side effects you’re
having and your immune system is already working to fight something off.
You should defer your date until you’re feeling better.
Q. If I get the COVID-19 vaccine and take a COVID-19 test, will it come
back positive?
A. No, the vaccine will not cause you to test positive on a COVID-19 test.
If/when your body develops an immune response, which is the goal of vaccination,
there is a possibility you may test positive on an antibody blood test.
Reasons to get the vaccine
Q. Why is a vaccine needed if we can do other things, like social distancing
and wearing masks, to prevent the virus from spreading?
A. Stopping a pandemic requires using all available tools. Vaccines work
with your immune system so your body will be ready to fight the virus
if you are exposed. Other steps, like covering your mouth and nose with
a mask and staying at least 6 feet away from others, help reduce your
chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others. Together,
COVID-19 vaccination and following CDC’s recommendations on how
to protect yourself and others will offer the best protection from COVID-19.
Q. Should I continue to wear a mask and avoid close contact with others
if I have received 2 doses of the vaccine?
A. Yes. While experts learn more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines
provide under real-life conditions, it will be important for everyone
to continue using
all available tools to help stop this pandemic, like covering your mouth and nose with a mask,
washing hands often, staying at least 6 feet away from others, and wearing
appropriate PPE while at work. Together, COVID-19 vaccination and following
current recommendations for
how to protect yourself and others will offer the best protection from getting and spreading COVID-19. Experts
need to understand more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide
before deciding to change recommendations on steps everyone should take
to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Other factors, including
how many people are able to be vaccinated and how the virus is spreading
in communities, will also affect these decisions.
Q. What percentage of the population needs to get vaccinated to have herd immunity
to COVID-19?
A. Herd immunity is a term used to describe when enough people have protection—either
from previous infection or vaccination—that it is unlikely a virus
or bacteria can spread and cause disease. Experts do not know what percentage
of people would need to get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity to COVID-19.
Herd immunity is generally thought to be achieved when 60-70% of a population
is immune. However, the percentage of people who need to have protection
in order to achieve herd immunity varies by disease.
Q. Will it cost anything to receive the vaccine?
A. No. There are no out-of-pocket costs for those receiving the vaccines.
Private insurance companies and government insurance programs like Medicare
will fully cover the cost of the vaccine. For those who are uninsured,
the cost will be fully covered.
Q. Does immunity after getting COVID-19 last longer than protection from
the COVID-19 vaccine?
A. The protection someone gains from having an infection (called natural
immunity) varies depending on the disease, and it varies from person to
person. Since this virus is new, we don’t know how long natural
immunity might last.
Regarding vaccination, we won’t know how long immunity lasts until we have more data on how well it works under real-life conditions in a broader population.
Both natural immunity and vaccine-induced immunity are important aspects of COVID-19 that experts are trying to learn more about.