Since December 2020, the COVID-19 vaccines have brought hope to a fight that has spanned across the world. All three vaccines available in the United States are safe and prevent an overwhelming majority of severe and life-threatening cases of COVID-19, so they can save lives and protect our health care systems from becoming overwhelmed.
As the virus continues to mutate, it’s more important than ever for us to come together to separate fact from fiction about the COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States.
As of January 20, 2021, three COVID-19 vaccinations have been approved for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
- Pfizer-BioNTech (approved for ages 12 and up)*
- Moderna (approved for ages 18 and up)
- Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) (approved for ages 18 and up)
*The Pfizer vaccine was issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA on December 11, 2020, and received full FDA approval on August 23, 2021.
Here, we’ve compiled some of the most commonly asked questions about the vaccine to help you make an informed decision that’s best for you and your family.
How was the COVID vaccine able to be developed so quickly? Is it really safe?
COVID-19 vaccines were able to be developed less than a year after the first cases were reported in Wuhan, China, thanks to a global community of experts coming together. This effort was helped by:
- Immediate publication of the genetic code of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which allowed scientists to begin working on a vaccine before some countries had ever seen COVID-19 cases.
- Decades of prior research on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines that scientists were able to build on to create the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
- Many volunteers, including some right here at Emory, who were willing to help test the vaccine.
- Support from government programs and private funding.
While the vaccines were developed quickly, they still adhered to stringent safety protocols, including:
- Closely regulated and monitored clinical trials to ensure the vaccines were safe without serious side effects.
- Development and implementation of vaccine safety monitoring to ensure serious side effects aren’t present in the general population over time.
Why should I take the vaccine if the COVID mortality rate is relatively low?
From January 2020 to September 20, 2021, there have been at least 675,071 deaths caused by COVID-19. Many experts believe this number is likely significantly higher, largely due to limited early testing and confusion about how to record deaths in the beginning of the pandemic. As a comparison, the CDC estimates that there were approximately 22,000 deaths from influenza (flu) during the 2019-2020 season.
Currently, the mortality rate of COVID-19 in the United States is 1.6%, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. With so many people infected, that has meant hundreds of thousands of deaths, including people who were our family, friends, and neighbors. If everyone in the United States were infected with COVID-19, a 1.6% mortality rate could lead to as many as 5 million deaths.
Additionally, even if your mortality risk from COVID-19 is lower because of your age or health status, you could still spread the virus to someone more vulnerable – for example, a parent or grandparent, or someone immunocompromised – who might be at high risk for complications and death.
Finally, recent studies estimate that between a quarter and a third of all people infected with COVID have long-term symptoms. So even if you aren’t at significant risk of dying, a COVID infection could still leave you with debilitating symptoms that prevent you from working or doing daily activities that you enjoy.
The vaccine and continued public health efforts (mask wearing, physical distancing, handwashing) all help to slow the spread of the virus and prevent deaths.
Is getting the COVID-19 vaccine a bigger risk than contracting the virus?
No, the COVID-19 vaccine is not a bigger risk to your health than becoming ill with the actual virus. COVID-19 can cause many serious short- and long-term complications and has killed more than 675,000 Americans, including more than 21,563 right here in Georgia. The COVID-19 vaccine has been proven safe and effective at slowing the spread of this very serious virus.
You may experience side effects after receiving the vaccine, such as soreness at the injection site, fatigue, or fevers, but they are not dangerous and generally go away 24-72 hours later.
True adverse events from the vaccine, like allergic reactions, are extremely rare, with less than 5 cases reported per million doses given. Given the mortality rate and the risk of long-term complications from COVID-19 infection, the benefits of vaccination far outweigh these very rare risks.
When you get a COVID-19 vaccine, you’re not just protecting yourself from a potentially deadly virus, you’re also protecting your family, friends and neighbors.
What is herd immunity?
Herd immunity occurs when a large enough portion of the population becomes immune to an infectious disease to stop disease spread. Both vaccination and natural infections can lead to herd immunity, but vaccinations could allow us to reach herd immunity without further deaths and long-term complications from COVID infections.
Whether or not we will achieve herd immunity to COVID depends on the speed with which we can vaccinate people, both in the United States and around the world, and how many people choose to get vaccinated. If COVID-19 infections continue to spread, we run the risk of the virus continuing to mutate and developing additional variants that may not be as well-covered by current vaccines.
Do your part to help stop the chain of COVID-19 infections: Get vaccinated, continue to wear your mask indoors when out in public, maintain at least 6 feet between you and individuals outside of your immediate household, and wash your hands thoroughly and often.
Do I need the vaccine if I’ve had COVID-19?
Yes, you should still get the vaccine even if you’ve been sick with the COVID-19 virus. Not everyone who has had COVID-19 develops immunity, and researchers are still working to understand how long immunity from infection with the virus lasts. Reinfection is also possible and appears to be less likely if people are vaccinated. The CDC, therefore, recommends that individuals who have been sick with COVID-19 still receive the vaccine.
Can I still get COVID-19 after being vaccinated?
Yes. The vaccines are highly effective – most importantly at preventing >90% of severe illness and death – but they are not 100% effective. They also don’t work immediately, and we now know that some immunocompromised people do not have a good immune response to the vaccine. Additionally, with the Delta variant, while the vaccines continue to work extremely well at preventing severe illness, we are seeing more breakthrough infections that are asymptomatic or mild.
Fortunately, vaccinated individuals who do become sick have a very low risk of becoming seriously ill, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19. The CDC even stopped tracking breakthrough cases on May 1 because the number was low and because illness was not severe among vaccinated individuals.
Can vaccinated individuals spread COVID-19?
Yes, there are documented cases of people who are fully vaccinated who have breakthrough infections and have infected others, particularly with the Delta variant. However, because you are less likely to get infected if you are vaccinated and you may be contagious for a shorter time period, being vaccinated still decreases COVID transmission.
It’s important for vaccinated individuals to take steps to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus, particularly to friends and family not yet vaccinated. Wear a mask in indoor public places, maintain 6 feet of physical distance from others when possible, and wash your hands frequently.
Do the COVID vaccines interact with or alter my DNA?
No. The mRNA in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines contains the genetic code to make one of the spike proteins found on the surface of the coronavirus particle. Your cells use that genetic code to make spike proteins that your immune system learns to recognize. Then, if you are exposed to coronavirus in the future, your immune system will react to it as well. The mRNA code is translated to make the spike protein without entering the cell nucleus, which is where your DNA is protected, so the mRNA in the vaccine never interacts with your DNA. The mRNA then disintegrates quickly and does not stay in your body.
