COVID-19 Vaccine Information

COVID-19 vaccines were tested in large clinical trials to make sure they meet safety standards. Many people were recruited to participate in these trials to see how the vaccines offers protection to people of different ages, races, and ethnicities, as well as those with different medical conditions.

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) carefully reviews all safety data from clinical trials and an authorizes emergency vaccine use only when the expected benefits outweigh potential risks.
• The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) reviews all safety data before recommending any COVID-19 vaccine for use. Learn how ACIP makes vaccine recommendations.
• FDA and CDC will continue to monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, to make sure even very rare side effects are identified.

Both this disease and the vaccine are new. We don’t know how long protection lasts for those who get infected or those who are vaccinated. What we do know is that COVID-19 has caused very serious illness and death for a lot of people. If you get COVID-19, you also risk giving it to loved ones who may get very sick. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is a safer choice. Even with a vaccine, people are urged to continue practicing other precautions like wearing a mask, social distancing, handwashing and other hygiene measures until public health officials say otherwise.

mRNA stands for messenger ribonucleic acid. mRNA is a genetic sequence that provides the blueprint for something to be developed in a cell (generally a protein). mRNA vaccines are a new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases. To trigger an immune response, many vaccines put a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies. Not mRNA vaccines. Instead, they teach our cells how to make a protein-or even just a piece of a protein-that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.

mRNA stands for messenger ribonucleic acid and can most easily be described as instructions for how to make a protein or even just a piece of a protein. mRNA is not able to alter or modify a person’s genetic makeup (DNA). The mRNA from a COVID-19 vaccine never enter the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA are kept. This means the mRNA does not affect or interact with our DNA in any way. Instead, COVID-19 vaccines that use mRNA work with the body’s natural defenses to safely develop protection (immunity) to disease. Learn more about how COVID-19 mRNA vaccines work. ​

Most people do not have serious problems after being vaccinated. However, your arm may be sore, red, or warm to the touch. These symptoms usually go away on their own within a week. Some people report getting a headache or fever when getting a vaccine. These side effects are a sign that your immune system is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. It is working and building up protection to disease.

No. Vaccine doses will be given at no cost to the patient. However, vaccination providers will be able to bill an administration fee to the patient's insurance company, therefore vaccine recipients will be asked for insurance information. Vaccine administration for uninsured patients will be covered by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Provider Relief Fund.​

There is no evidence suggesting that this is a possibility.

The mRNA vaccine does not require the use of eggs or any other cells in the production or manufacturing process. Therefore, egg allergy is not a concern with this vaccine.

More than 40,000 people were part of the Pfizer vaccine trial. Nearly 40% were between 56 and 85, and there was a diverse patient population spanning 6 different countries enrolled.

More than 30,000 people were part of the Moderna vaccine trial, all of whom were in the United States. More than 7,000 patients were over 65, and 5,000 were under 65 but had high-risk chronic conditions. This study also had a very diverse patient population that is fairly similar to the diversity of the US population.

Based on evidence from clinical trials, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 95% effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness in people without evidence of previous infection. Click here to learn more about the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Based on evidence from clinical trials, the Moderna vaccine was 94.1% effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness in people who received two doses who had no evidence of being previously infected. Click here to learn more about the Moderna vaccine.

The number of antibodies produced after the second vaccination dramatically increases compared to receiving only a single dose. While a single dose certainly offers some protection, the second dose is expected to offer significantly longer protection.

The most common side effects are similar to what may be expected from the influenza vaccine.Headache, fatigue, fever, muscle ache, and joint pain were among the most common. Pain at the site of injection is also common. Most of these reactions can be managed with acetaminophen or ibuprofen. They may be uncomfortable, however.

We expect these types of reactions to occur when our immune system responds appropriately to this type of vaccine.

Very young, very old:

- Only patients 16-85 years of age were included in the initial vaccine trial.

- Less than 200 patients who were 16-17 years old have received the vaccine at the time of study data cutoff.

- Patients 12 and older started to be enrolled in October.

Pregnant/breastfeeding:

- The studies did not include women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

- Although there are no signals for concern regarding teratogenicity (harm to the baby), data from clinical trials is not available for this group at this time

- The most recent position of American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) can be found here: ACOG COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance. Statements from Tri-State Perinatology and the Society for Maternal Medicine can be found at the following links:

- COVID-19 Vaccine for Pregnant and Nursing Women - Tri-State Perinatology

- COVID Vaccine for Pregnant & Breastfeeding - Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine

- Risks associated with the COVID infection in pregnant patients can be found here:

- CDC Statements on Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

- CDC Data on COVID in Pregnancy

Some immunocompromised patients:

- Patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy (high dose systemic corticosteroids, some cancer drugs), were also excluded from the study.

- Patients with short-term corticosteroids could be included if it had been >28 days since receipt of these drugs.

- There are no specific safety concerns at this time in immunocompromised patients. There could be concerns related to lower level of efficacy/immune response, but this should be weighed against the fact that patients who are immunocompromised are at higher risk to have a poor outcome from COVID infections themselves.

- The FDA has stated that the vaccine may potentially be less effective in immunocompromised patients, but they did not state any safety concerns among this group.

The federal government and state departments of health have set up guidelines for the timeline and prioritization of vaccine distribution. The schedule of these is based upon vaccine availability. At Good Samaritan, we are currently in Phase 1A, which includes frontline health care workers.

It is currently unknown if people who have already had COVID will need to be vaccinated again. There is limited data on how long immunity lasts after an infection. The Indiana Department of Health and many other organizations are currently recommending to wait at least 3 months after being diagnosed with COVID to get the vaccine.

There has not been enough time to evaluate exactly how long antibodies are expected to last, so it is unknown at this time whether this will be an annual vaccination.