COVID-19 Vaccination
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

TWe encourage people who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection to get the vaccine. Vaccination is very likely to improve and prolong your immunity to another infection.

The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are not live. These vaccines are made with genetic particles called messenger RNA (mRNA), which provide instructions for your cells to make harmless microscopic material called spike protein. The presence of the spike protein prompts your immune system to develop antibodies against COVID-19 infections.

You may also be interested to know that these vaccines do not contain egg, which is an ingredient in some vaccines. They are also free of fetal cells, viral cells and preservatives.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses a virus. However, it is not a coronavirus. Instead, a version of Adenovirus 26, which does not replicate or cause illness, delivers the mRNA, instructing your cells to make the spike proteins. Moreover, just like other COVID-19 vaccines, immune-response prompting antibodies are triggered by the spike proteins' presence.

No. It is impossible. The vaccine does not contain the coronavirus or any coronavirus cells.

With the virus that causes COVID-19, we had a head start. Because there are already other coronavirus vaccines in development, scientists only had to alter the science for this new strain, SARS-CoV-2.

Under other circumstances, it can take years to develop a vaccine. Another reason medical scientists succeeded with their rapid vaccine development is the massive funding that backed their development.

You may experience some redness and pain at the injection site with either the first or second injection. Don’t be surprised if you develop a fever, chills, muscle aches or a headache that lasts for up to a day and a half. The side effects you experience after your second dose may differ from those you felt after your first dose.

Yes. The vaccine is only one of the defenses against this virus. The CDC recommends vaccinated people continue masking, hand washing and maintaining six feet of social distance from others.

In the vaccine clinical trials, immune response matured one to two weeks after the second injection. Approximately 95% of vaccine recipients develop immunity after receiving the second dose.

For most people, the answer is yes, especially if a few days have passed since they received the first dose. Reducing the symptoms of COVID-19 is exactly what this vaccine does. It cannot prevent the infection from entering a person’s body. Instead, the vaccination prevents the infection from progressing. Receiving the first dose keeps most people from developing symptoms or experiencing less severe ones.

The body’s immune system needs some time—about 14 days—to develop antibodies. The early clinical data showed more than 50% of those receiving the first dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines built up an effective immune response 14 days after their shot.

Those who receive the vaccine after recovering from COVID-19 may experience side effects after either the first or the second shot. The list of side effects is the same for both doses. In the shoulder where you receive the injection, you can expect pain, swelling and redness. You may also experience flu-like symptoms in the rest of your body, such as fatigue, headache or chills.