COVID-19 Vaccine Information

None of the vaccines uses the live coronavirus which causes COVID-19, so the vaccine cannot cause the disease. The goal of the vaccine is to teach our
immune system how to recognize and “fight” the virus which causes COVID-19. Sometimes the process of getting vaccinated can cause mild fevers, muscle
aches, soreness, and headaches as your body’s immune system starts producing the protective antibodies to help defend you in case you are exposed to
the virus.

It takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity after it receives a vaccination. Thus a person could get sick with COVID-19 before or after they
receive the vaccination and this means they have not had enough time to develop an appropriate antibody response.

Even after receiving both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine you will still need to wear and mask, practice physical distancing, avoid crowds, and use good
hand hygiene.

Although both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines demonstrate over 90% efficacy in the clinical trials, we are still learning about their protection
in real-life conditions. Due to this, it will be important for everyone to continue to use all of the public health tools we have in order to help
control this pandemic. We still need to understand about the protection the vaccines provide and if they help prevent onward transmission of the
virus which causes COVID-19.

The duration of protection from the vaccine is not yet known and continues to be studied. This is one of the reasons it is important to continue to wear
your masks, practice physical distancing, use good hand hygiene, and avoid large crowds even after you get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Protection from the vaccine is not immediate and the vaccine is a 2-dose series. It will take 1 to 2 weeks following the second dose to be considered fully
vaccinated.

There is not enough information known about long-term natural immunity in people who have been infected with COVID-19. The protection a person develops
after having an infection varies depending on the disease and most likely varies from each individual. Since this is still a new disease, we do not
know how long natural immunity lasts. The Pfizer phase 2/3 trial included participants who had evidence of prior infection and it suggests that the
vaccine is safe and efficacious in those who have had prior infection.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that the COVID-19 vaccine should be offered to those with a history of COVID-19.
However since current evidence suggests that reinfection is uncommon in the 90 days after initial infection, those with a documented acute infection
in the preceding 90 days may defer vaccination until this point.

Vaccination with the COVID-19 vaccine should be deferred until recovery from acute illness has occurred and criteria has been met to discontinue isolation.
The ACIP does not recommend there be any minimal interval between infection or vaccination but does note that current evidence suggests that reinfection
is uncommon in the 90 days after initial infection. Therefore, those with a documented acute infection in the preceding 90 days may defer vaccination
until this point especially while there is a limited supply of vaccine.

There is currently not enough evidence on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with autoimmune disorders. The CDC recommends discussing
with your physician whether you should take the vaccine.

No.

For the Moderna vaccine the side effects were mild to moderate.

After the first injection the most common side effect was an injection site reaction.

Side effects were most common after the second dose and included fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, pain, fever, and redness/pain at the injection site.

It is an mRNA vaccine and is administered to individuals as 2 doses given 28 days apart. The Phase 3 clinical trial was completed in collaboration with
NIAID and enrolled over 30,000 participants who were > 18 years of age and non-pregnant/non-breastfeeding women.

The primary endpoint was based on analysis of COVID-19 cases starting two weeks following the second dose of the vaccine. There were 95 cases of COVID-19;
90 cases in the placebo group and 5 cases in the vaccine group, for an overall vaccine efficacy of 94.5%.

Of the 95 cases of COVID-19, 15 occurred in adults >65 years old and 20 were in those from diverse communities.

There were 30 cases of severe COVID-19. All were in the placebo group.

Moderna has started a trial to test the vaccine in children between 12-18 years old.

If it has been greater than the recommended time frame to get the second shot, the CDC advises to get it at the earliest opportunity. It is important to
note that you do not need to restart the vaccination series.

Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine will not cause you to test positive for a test checking to see if you have a current infection for COVID-19. Once your body
develops an immune response, which is the goal of vaccination, you may test positive on some antibody tests for COVID-19.

Antibody tests tell us you have protection against the virus. Scientists are currently working to understand how COVID-19 vaccination may affect antibody
tests.