COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19. Vaccine manufacturers followed every step to ensure safety and effectiveness of the vaccines. Each vaccine meets FDA safety, effectiveness, quality, and consistency standards for emergency and full authorization. The data from clinical trials and results underwent full review, and the vaccines are scientifically proven to be safe. While widespread mRNA vaccine use is relatively new, it has been in development for decades. Because of this, Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna could start their mRNA vaccine development processes early in the pandemic. Worldwide collaboration and support on COVID-19 vaccines and combined clinical trial timeframes, led to a shorter timeframe for development. The vaccines are continuously monitored for safety and any reports of adverse events are reported in the VAERS. While the exact ingredients vary by manufacturer, the Covid-19 vaccines do not contain ingredients like metals, latex, preservatives, tissues, antibiotics, food proteins or medicines. Learn more about the vaccine ingredients and view the FDA fact sheets.

Talk to your healthcare provider if you have severe allergies or have experienced a reaction to other vaccines.

The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines instruct your cells to make copies of a protein that is part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The viral vector COVID-19 Vaccines (ex. Janssen from Johnson & Johnson) uses a harmless version of a different virus to deliver information into the body to tell your cells to make proteins that are found on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Novavax vaccine is a protein-based vaccine that that delivers spike proteins and immune system stimulants into Each of these FDA authorized vaccines do not contain the live virus. The COVID-19 vaccines cannot and will not make you sick from COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines teach your immune system how to recognize and fight SARS-CoV-2 if you are exposed to it.

Sometimes the body may respond to the vaccine as it is working to build protection. This process may cause normal immune system responses like body aches, nausea, or tiredness.

It is possible that someone can become infected with SARS-CoV-2 before or after vaccination, as the vaccine hasn’t had enough time to provide protection. New variants can also cause infection by partially evading your immune system.

There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility or reproductive organs. The vaccines will not affect your ability to have a baby. However, getting sick with COVID-19 can potentially have a serious impact on the pregnancy and the health of the mother. COVID-19 can lead to miscarriage, premature birth, and stillborn births. Pregnant people are at higher risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19. Getting vaccinated and boosted can protect your health and your baby’s health during pregnancy and beyond. Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and the menstrual cycle (Period) or pregnancy. The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) review the effectiveness, safety, manufacturing standards, and side effects of the vaccines. Review the VRBPAC briefing documents for Moderna and Pfizer to review their findings.

Reach out to your healthcare provider with any questions about fertility or pregnancy.

COVID-19 vaccines work by delivering instructions to our cells to stimulate the immune system and build protection against the virus. The mRNA vaccines cause your cells to make proteins to stimulate the immune system but then it breaks down, all without affecting your DNA. mRNA enters the cells but not the nucleus, where DNA lives. Viral vector vaccines deliver instructions to the nucleus of a cell to build protection against COVID-19, but it does not have the ability to alter our DNA. After your body produces an immune response your body discards vaccine ingredients. Learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work.

While COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing infection, serious illness, and death, they are not 100% effective. Those who are fully vaccinated can still become ill from COVID-19, this is called a vaccine breakthrough infection. If you have been vaccinated and contract COVID-19, you are less likely to have severe symptoms than if you were unvaccinated. Even if you are fully vaccinated, if you live in or are visiting an area with high COVID-19 Community level, taking precautions like mask-wearing and physically distancing can provide added protection from infection. People who get vaccine breakthrough infections can still pass the virus to others. This is another reason why it’s important to continue to practice preventative measures as well as test and self-isolate if exposed. See ways to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 infection. Immunity wanes over time, so be sure to stay up to date on vaccines and boosters, as this can help increase protection against the virus that causes COVID-19 and most variants. Learn more about your COVID-19 Community Level and recommendations for your city or county.

The protection that you gain from having COVID-19 (natural immunity) varies from person to person. If you’ve already had COVID-19, getting a COVID-19 vaccine can provide added protection against reinfection, severe sickness, and even death from COVID-19. While you have some level of immunity from previous infection, it can vary long this protection lasts. Being previously infected by COVID-19 does not provide the same level of protection as the COVID-19 vaccine.

An August 2021 study indicates that those who got vaccinated after having COVID had a higher level of immunity than those who did not get the vaccine. It was also found that if you had COVID-19 before and had not been vaccinated, you were over twice as likely to be re-infected compared to people who were infected and got vaccinated.

People who have had COVID-19 and aren’t vaccinated may also be more vulnerable to variants as the virus evolves. It’s impossible to know who will have mild or serious illness from infection. Even if you may not get severely ill, you may spread it to others who might become severely ill or die. Getting COVID-19 can result in long term disease, organ damage, hospitalization or death.

COVID-19 vaccines are a safer and more dependable way to build protection than getting sick from COVID-19. Learn how COVID-19 vaccines protect you through immune response without having to become sick with COVID-19. If you’ve recently had COVID-19 and want to get vaccinated, its recommended to wait 3 months from the onset of symptoms or receiving a positive test.

Vaccine Effectiveness: Vaccination protects people against infection, illness, hospitalization, and death. Vaccine effectiveness is measured through studies that are designed to estimate individuals’ protection gained from vaccination. Those with chronic illnesses and older people are at increased risk of serious complications from COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines help to protect people aged 6 months and older from becoming severely ill, being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19. The vaccines can lower your risk of getting and spreading the SARSCov-2 virus and most variants. Research is ongoing, worldwide, to better understand how the COVID-19 variants affect vaccine effectiveness.

While studies have shown that the COVID-19 vaccine’s ability to prevent infection declines over time, vaccines provide protection against hospitalization and death from COVID-19. Getting a booster shot re-ups your protection against COVID-19. While COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing infection, serious illness, and death from COVID-19, they do prevent infection or illness 100% of the time. Those who are fully vaccinated can still become ill from COVID-19; this is called a vaccine breakthrough infection. If you do get ill from COVID-19 after being vaccinated, you are more likely to have mild symptoms. Learn more about the effectiveness of FDA authorized vaccines, how, and why scientists are tracking how well the vaccines are working. View the monthly vaccine effectiveness estimates by outcome and by age group. Check out a comparison of the vaccines.

The COVID-19 vaccine stimulates your immune system to protect you from the virus that causes COVID-19. The process can sometimes cause common side effects such as pain at the injection site, fever, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, diarrhea, or headache. These side effects are normal and will usually go away after a few days. They are signs that the body is responding to the vaccine and preparing itself to fight the virus.

Everyone will respond differently to the vaccine, and not everyone will experience side effects If you don’t have side effects that’s okay, you are still building protection against the virus.

Learn more about the rare, less common, side effects of COVID-19 vaccinations. The CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) are closely monitoring the safety and reported adverse events following COVID-19 vaccine use.

Alert your local healthcare provider if you experience any unexpected side effects or side effects which last more than three days.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/how-they-work.html