Experts address vaccination and children, safety, side effects, boosters, variants and long COVID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Authors: Lisa Esposito<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The COVID-19 vaccine has been publicly available in the U.S. since December 2020. Since then, vaccination has eased the pandemic by preventing infections, reducing severe disease<\/a> and saving lives. More is known about vaccine effectiveness, safety and side effects, which tend to be mild for most people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, vaccination guidelines keep changing. Previously, three vaccines were recommended for use in the U.S., now it\u2019s down to two. Children are receiving the vaccine at increasingly younger ages. Boosters mean that being fully vaccinated is an ongoing process. Evolving COVID-19<\/a> variants might challenge the makeup of current vaccines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With all this flux and uncertainty, here are questions to ask your doctor about the COVID-19 vaccine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can be vaccinated at multiple sites including your doctor\u2019s office, clinics, participating pharmacies and your local health department, which can also point you to other vaccination sites in your area. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made a vaccine finder<\/a> available, and you can narrow your search by zip code and vaccine or booster type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, but \u2013 and it\u2019s a big but here \u2013 money is about to run out,\u201d says Dr. Tom Frieden, president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, and a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not clear what will happen once money runs out. On the one hand, insurers are going to need to cover all the vaccinations and treatments with no copayments and no annoying preauthorization \u2026 so insurers need to do their job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, a huge question is what will happen to people without adequate insurance coverage. \u201cKeeping vaccines and treatment access available for those who are uninsured or underinsured is extremely important, and I don\u2019t know how that\u2019s going to be done,\u201d says Frieden, who is a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. \u201cBecause currently it\u2019s been done with funding that Congress provided, and Congress declined to renew that funding. So that issue will come up with increasing urgency in the coming weeks and months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Full Food and Drug Administration Approval<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Two vaccines are currently offered and recommended in the U.S. Initially allowed under emergency use authorization, or EUA, by the FDA as a public health measure, they are now fully approved:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Emergency Use Authorization<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pfizer vaccine<\/strong> is allowed under EUA for these populations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Moderna vaccine<\/strong> is allowed under EUA for these populations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The J&J vaccine works differently, using previously existing viral vector technology. On May 5, 2022, the FDA limited the authorized use of the J&J vaccine because of the risk of blood clots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very rare but devastating side effect,\u201d Frieden says. \u201cBasically, other than in people who for one reason or another cannot or will not get another vaccine, J&J is not likely to be used in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, it\u2019s fine to mix and match. \u201cIn fact, there\u2019s evidence that what is called \u2018heterologous boosting\u2019 often provides some additional protection,\u201d Frieden says, beyond the protection already afforded by getting a booster. \u201cThere\u2019s also some evidence that the Moderna booster, which is a little bit higher-dose than Pfizer\u2019s booster, may be a little more effective. But either of them works very well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n An estimated 2.2 million deaths, 17 million hospitalizations and more than 66 million additional infections were prevented by the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program, according to a March 2022 Commonwealth Fund update<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese are highly efficacious vaccines,\u201d says Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, a professor in vaccinology and director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. \u201cThey work, and they work very well.\u201d Vaccines can keep you from getting sick and potentially be lifesaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being vaccinated against COVID-19 offers these benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n [ <\/p>\n\n\n\n READ: Should I Get the COVID-19 Booster?<\/a> ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearly 585 million doses of the COVID-19 <\/a>vaccine have been given in the U.S. since the pandemic began through late May 2022, according to the CDC. The vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of clinical trial participants, the CDC notes, and meet the FDA\u2019s scientific standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality to support their authorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For both vaccines, arm pain is a common local reaction, typically worse after the second dose, Neuzil says. (Arm pain is a common side effect of vaccination in general<\/a>, not just with the COVID vaccine.) \u201cThen, a smaller percentage of people get some systemic reactions that are generally self-limited to a day, sometimes two days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the FDA, commonly reported side effects are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider asking to have the vaccine given in your nondominant arm, so you\u2019re not bothered as much by tenderness while going about routine activities, Neuzil suggests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At home<\/a>, have over-the-counter medication on hand so you can treat muscle soreness, fever or other common vaccine side effects. \u201cPeople just need to be prepared with ibuprofen or acetaminophen,\u201d Neuzil says. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with taking it and there\u2019s no reason to wait and suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CDC lists four rare but serious safety problems related to COVID-19 vaccination:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Severe allergic reactions including anaphylaxis can occur after any type of vaccination, the CDC website points out. And COVID-19 vaccination benefits outweigh the risks, the CDC emphasizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, although infection is less common after vaccination and booster doses, and resulting symptoms tend to be milder<\/a> and less likely to result in hospitalization or death. Vaccinated people with even mild breakthrough COVID-19 infections can experience lingering symptoms that affect organs such as the heart, lung and brains, according to a study released May 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vaccination reduced the risk of getting long COVID by 15%, according to the study<\/a> of more than 13 million veterans published in the journal Nature Medicine. However, vaccines were most effective at preventing the worst long COVID complications \u2013 reducing lung disorders by 49% and blood-clotting disorders by 56% in vaccinated veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe continue to be really impressed about how well the vaccines protect against severe illness, hospitalization or death,\u201d Frieden says. \u201cThese are remarkably effective vaccines. At the same time, it\u2019s become increasingly clear that there is a waning of the immunity \u2013 and that\u2019s why boosting is important.\u201d Although there may eventually be even better, longer-acting, more widely protective vaccines, \u201cwe don\u2019t have them yet,\u201d he says. \u201cSo we need to get protected now against the variants that are circulating now or may soon be circulating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou do have some protection, but not nearly as much as if you get a vaccination,\u201d Frieden says. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not enough to think you\u2019re super-protected and take risks.\u201d The bottom line is: \u201cSome people who are older, although they are protected by prior infections, still get very severely ill. And that\u2019s why we still have hundreds of deaths a day in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAbsolutely,\u201d Frieden says. \u201cYou can wait anywhere for one to three months after you\u2019ve had COVID and then you can get your booster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It appears so. Vaccination including booster doses produced high levels of virus-neutralizing antibodies that recognized both omicron BA.1 and BA.2<\/a> among participants in a recent study<\/a> supported by the National Cancer Institute. However, participants who only received the initial vaccine series but no booster had far fewer neutralizing antibodies in their blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat we\u2019ve learned about vaccines is that they seem to help prevent you from getting COVID, but more importantly, they help prevent you from having severe disease from it,\u201d says Dr. Jonathan M. Miller, chief of pediatric primary care at Nemours Children\u2019s Hospital\u2013Delaware<\/a>. \u201cEnsuring that your kid is up to date and boosted for the COVID vaccine is the best thing you can do to protect them against this unpredictable virus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes. On May 19, the CDC expanded eligibility of COVID-19 boosters to everyone ages 5 years and older. Specifically, children<\/a> ages 5 to 11 should receive a booster shot five months after their initial Pfizer vaccine series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On May 23, Pfizer announced that its vaccine demonstrated a strong immune response, high effectiveness and was safe and well-tolerated in children from 6 months old to under 5 years. In April, Moderna requested authorization for its two-dose vaccine for children younger than 6 years old. \u201cWe are patiently \u2013 and in the pediatric world, eagerly \u2013 awaiting the FDA\u2019s review of the vaccine for 6 months and up in June,\u201d Miller says.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAvailability\/Eligibility for the COVID-19 Vaccine and Boosters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Where can I get the COVID vaccine?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Do people have fairly equal access to COVID-19 vaccination (and treatment) in the U.S.?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Who is eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S.?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What about the Johnson & Johnson\/Janssen vaccine?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What if I originally received the J&J vaccine \u2013 is it OK to get a different booster?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Effectiveness of the COVID-19 Vaccine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What are some key benefits of COVID-19 vaccination?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Safety\/Side Effects of the COVID-19 Vaccine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What are common COVID vaccine side effects?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What can I do to minimize vaccine after-effects?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What serious vaccination complications have occurred?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Repeat Infections, Breakthrough Infections and Long COVID With the Vaccine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can fully vaccinated people get breakthrough COVID-19 and long COVID?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why is it important to stay up to date with COVID-19 booster shots?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Does having had COVID-19 give you some protection against future infection?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If I\u2019ve already had COVID-19, should I still get the vaccine or boosters?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Are vaccines effective against the omicron variants?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Children and the COVID-19 Vaccine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How important is it for eligible children to be vaccinated?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Should young kids receive COVID-19 boosters?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Could younger children eventually receive COVID-19 vaccination?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Is it OK for kids to get the COVID-19 vaccine along with other vaccines?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n