Vaccine FAQ

Health experts recommend getting any COVID-19 vaccine that is available when you are eligible. Do not wait for a specific brand. All authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and CDC does not recommend one vaccine over another.

Learn more about your COVID-19 vaccination, including how to find a vaccination location, what to expect at your appointment, and more.

Source: www.cdc.gov

Millions of people have safely received a COVID-19 vaccine.

More than 189 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the U.S. from December 14, 2020, through April 12, 2021.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials. The vaccines met FDA’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness. Learn more in this video (external video icon).

These vaccines will undergo the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. This monitoring includes using both established and new safety monitoring systems to make sure that COVID-19 vaccines are safe.

(Inserted video: https://youtu.be/7bBmQaX2k4w)

Source: www.cdc.gov

Side effects are normal signs that your body is building protection. Common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling in the arm where you received the shot, as well as tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea throughout the rest of the body. These side effects could affect your ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days. Learn more about what to expect after getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Source: www.cdc.gov

Yes, if you are pregnant, you might choose to be vaccinated. Based on how COVID-19 vaccines work, experts think they are unlikely to pose a specific risk for people who are pregnant. However, there are currently limited data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant people because these vaccines have not been widely studied in pregnant people. Systems are in place to continue to monitor vaccine safety, and so far, they have not identified any specific safety concerns for pregnant people. Clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant people are underway or planned.

Talk with with your healthcare provider to help you decide whether to get vaccinated. Learn more about vaccination considerations for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

If you are pregnant and have received a COVID-19 vaccine, we encourage you to enroll in v-safe, CDC’s smartphone-based tool that provides personalized health check-ins after vaccination. A v-safe pregnancy registry has been established to gather information on the health of pregnant people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine.

Source: www.cdc.gov

We don’t know how long protection lasts for 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.

Experts are working to learn more about both natural immunity and vaccine-induced immunity. CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.

Source: www.cdc.gov

It depends. For now, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that fully vaccinated people can gather indoors without physical distancing or wearing masks with:

• Other people who are fully vaccinated
• Unvaccinated people from one other household, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19

Until more is known, fully vaccinated people should continue to wear masks and stay 6 feet apart from other people in other settings, like when they are in public or visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households.

Additional recommendations can be found at When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated.

Source: www.cdc.gov

Yes, you should be vaccinated regardless of whether you already had COVID-19. That’s because experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. Even if you have already recovered, it is possible—although rare—that you could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 again. Learn more about why getting vaccinated is a safer way to build protection than getting infected.

If you were treated for COVID-19 with monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, you should wait 90 days before getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Talk to your doctor if you are unsure what treatments you received or if you have more questions about getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Experts are still learning more about how long vaccines protect against COVID-19 in real-world conditions. CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.

Source: www.cdc.gov