COVID-19 Information

Understanding COVID

All fact that you see here are from the CDC check back to cdc.gov for more information regarding your concerns with COVID-19.

Understanding COVID-19 Vaccines

COVID-19 vaccines help our bodies develop immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 without us having to get the illness.
Different types of vaccines work in different ways to offer protection.
None of the COVID-19 vaccines can give you COVID-19
Bringing new vaccines to the public involves various steps, all which must be followed before they are made available

How COVID-19 Vaccines Work

It typically takes a few weeks after vaccination for it to be affective. Its is possible that a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and then get sick because the vaccine did not have enough time to provide protection. Sometimes after vaccination, the process of building immunity can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal signs the body is building immunity.

A Safer, More Reliable Way to Build Protection

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is a safer, more reliable way to build protection than getting sick with COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccination helps protect you by creating an antibody response without you having to experience potentially severe illness or post-COVID conditions.

Children, Teens, or Adults Who Have Already Had COVID-19 Should Still Get Vaccinated

Studies show evidence that people can get added protection by getting vaccinated after having been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Even if you have had COVID-19, you should still get vaccinated.

COVID-19 Vaccines Are Effective

CDC recommends everyone ages 6 months and older to stay up to date with their vaccines, which includes everyone 5 years and older getting vaccinated and/ or Boosted if eligible, for the best protection against COVID-19
Vaccines show approximately 90% protection against symptomatic infection, severe illness, and death. The rates of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations and deaths are substantially higher among unvaccinated adults than among those who have received a primary series and those who are up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccination, particularly among adults aged 65 years or older.
Protection provided by the current vaccines against symptomatic infection and transmission is less than that against severe disease and diminishes over time, especially against the currently circulating variants. For this reason, it is important to stay up to date, especially as new vaccines become available.

COVID-19 Vaccines Are Safe for Children and Adults

While COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly, all steps have been taken to ensure their safety and effectiveness
The benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks
Side effects that could cause long term health problems are VERY RARE following any vaccination, including COVID-19 vaccination.

FAQs & Myths

All information here was obtained from the CDC. If you need more information in regards to COVID-19 then please visit cdc.gov

Frequently Asked Questions In Regards to COVID-19

Why should I get vaccinated if I might get COVID-19 anyway?

COVID-19 vaccination significantly lowers your risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death if you get infected. Compared to people who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations, unvaccinated people are more likely to get COVID-19, much more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, and much more likely to die from COVID-19.

Do I need to wait after getting a flu vaccine or another vaccine before getting a COVID-19 vaccine?

There are recommended waiting period between getting a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines. You can get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, including a flu vaccine, at the same visit.

If I already had COVID-19 and recovered, do I still need to get a COVID-19 vaccine?

You should get a COVID-19 vaccine even if you already had COVID-19
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine after you recover from COVID-19 infection provides added protection against COVID-19. You may consider delaying your vaccine by 3 months from when your symptoms started or, if you had no symptoms, when you received a positive test.
People who already had COVID-19 and do not get vaccinated after their recovery are more likely to get COVID-19 again that those who get vaccinated after their recovery.

Do I need a COVID-19 vaccine booster?

Yes. The emergence of COVID-19 variants further emphasize the importance of vaccination, boosters and prevention efforts needed to protect against COVID-19.

If we need a booster, are the vaccines working?

Yes. COVID-19 vaccines are working well to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death. However, public health experts are seeing reduced protection over time against mild and moderate disease, especially among certain populations.

Do boosters use the same ingredients as existing vaccines?

Yes. COVID-19 boosters are the same ingredients (formulation) as the current COVID-19 vaccines.

What are the risks to getting a booster?

Adults and children may have some side effects from a COVID-19 vaccine, including pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and nausea. Serious side effects are rare.

Am I still considered “fully vaccinated” if I don’t get a booster?

Yes, the definition of fully vaccinated does not include a booster. Fully vaccinated, however, is not the same as having the best protection.

Common Myths and Facts in Regards to COVID-19

MYTH: The ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous.
FACT: Nearly all the ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines are also ingredients in many foods – fats, sugars, and salts.

MYTH: The natural immunity I get from being sick with COVID-19 is better than the immunity I get from COVID-19 vaccination.
FACT: Getting a COVID-19 vaccination is a safer and more dependable way to build immunity to COVID-19 than getting sick with COVID-19.

COVID-19 vaccinations are more predictable immune response than infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.
All COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States are effective at preventing COVID-19. Getting sick with COVID-19 can offer some protection from future illness, sometimes called “natural immunity,” but the level of protection people get from having COVID-19 may very depending on how mild or severe their illness was, the time since their infection, and their age.
Getting the COVID-19 vaccination prevents you from getting sick, meaning you don’t have to go through all the pre and post-COVID symptoms.

MYTH: COVID-19 vaccines cause variants.
FACT: COVID-19 vaccines do not create or cause variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Instead, COVID-19 vaccines can help prevent new variants from emerging.

New variants of a virus happen because the virus that causes COVID-19 constantly changed through natural ongoing process of mutation (change). As the virus spreads, it has more opportunities to change. High vaccination coverage in a population reduces the spread of the virus and helps prevent new variants from emerging.

MYTH: The mRNA vaccine is not considered a vaccine.
FACT: mRNA vaccines, such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, work differently than other types of vaccines, but they still trigger an immune response inside your body.

MYTH: COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips.
FACT: COVID-19 vaccines do not contain microchips. Vaccines are developed to fight disease and are not administered to track your movement.

MYTH: Receiving a COVID-19 vaccine can make you magnetic.
FACT: Receiving a COVID-19 vaccine will not make you magnetic, including at the site of vaccination which is usually your arm.

COVID-19 vaccines do not contain ingredients that can produce an electromagnetic field at the site of your injection. All COVID-19 vaccinations are free from metals.

MYTH: COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States shed or release their components.
FACT: Vaccine shedding is the release or discharge of any of the vaccine components in or outside of the body and can only occur when a vaccine contains a live weakened version of the virus.

None of the vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. contain a live virus. mRNA and viral vector vaccines are the two types of currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines available.

MYTH: COVID-19 vaccines can alter my DNA
FACT: COVID-19 vaccines do not change or interact with you DNA in anyway

MYTH: A COVID-19 vaccine can make me sick with COVID-19.
FACT: Because none of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines in the United States contain the live virus that causes COVID-19, the vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19

MYTH: COVID-19 vaccines will affect my fertility.
FACT: Currently no evidence shows that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems (problems trying to get pregnant) in women or men.

COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are pregnant, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future, as well as their partners.