CHECK OUT FACTS ON COVID-19 Vaccine. I feel incredibly blessed to have received my vaccination connected to my service to United States Veterans. Check out my video to learn about my experience. I am proud to stand with science and I am not afraid. I would not wish the horrors of this disease on anyone and will NOT trade what I KNOW for what could be but is not likely. From young to old, no one knows how this virus will affect them. Severe illness and debilitation may even be worst than death to some. #ITookMyShot and couldn't be more proud. Check out COVID-19 Vaccine Facts below from CDC and multiple sources.
FACT: As of December 30th, the U.S. has had about 19.3 Million Cases with approximately 329,605 deaths and a lot more suffering than there has been death. When it comes to the COVID-19 Vaccine, you need to weigh worry about unknown side effects with worry about KNOWN side effects from COVID-19 up to and including DEATH. Of course you get to decide.
FACT: From birth to the age of 18, most Americans have already successfully taken over 30 Different Vaccines for multiple diseases and that does not even include annual flu vaccines. Because of Vaccines, we have survived diseases that had the potential to wipe out a fair amount of our population (like COVID-19) from Measles to Small Pox. Serious vaccine side effects and injury across the population are uncommon.
FACT: The efficacy of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are at least 95% after the 2nd dose. It is true that we do NOT know how long the immunity will last. This will require continued study.
FACT: Given the global pandemic, we do NOT have the time to watch and evaluate long term data over multiple years. We do not anticipate long term side effects to differ significantly from other vaccines but If you are more concerned about potential problems in the future vs. known problems today, this will unfortunately be a sticking point with potentially more imminent consequences.
FACT: To add insult to injury, there is a new strain of COVID-19 that is significantly more infectious – some say about 70% more infectious. It is not currently known if this mutated strain is more deadly but it is known that it is far more transmissible.
FACT: Vaccines for COVID-19 may not prevent transmission but if you mount a good and expected response, it will prevent systemic disease. What does this mean? You may still contract the virus and be asymptomatic which would make you a potential risk to others. For this reason, you should STILL wear your mask at all times. Neither vaccine studied transmission specifically but looked at illness.
FACT: COVID-19 vaccines will not cause you to test positive on COVID-19 PCR/antigen tests. If your body develops an immune response, which is the goal of vaccination, there is a possibility you may test positive on some antibody tests. Antibody tests indicate you had a previous infection and that you may have some level of protection against the virus. Experts are currently looking at how COVID-19 vaccination may affect antibody testing results.
FACT: People who have gotten sick with COVID-19 may still benefit from getting vaccinated. Due to the severe health risks associated with COVID-19 and the fact that re-infection with COVID-19 is possible, people may be advised to get a COVID-19 vaccine even if they have been sick with COVID-19 before. At this time, experts do not know how long someone is protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. The immunity someone gains from having an infection, called natural immunity, varies from person to person. Some early evidence suggests natural immunity may not last very long. We won’t know how long immunity produced by vaccination lasts until we have a vaccine and more data on how well it works. Both natural immunity and vaccine-induced immunity are important aspects of COVID-19 that experts are trying to learn more about, and CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.
FACT: People with severe allergies, particularly allergies to injectable medications (particularly anaphylactic reactions) should discuss the vaccination with their physician. Also if you are allergic to the The 1st COVID-19 vaccine or have known allergies to any of the components to the COVID-19 vaccine should NOT take the vaccine.
The ingredients may sound like an alphabet stew of letters but here they go:
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine includes the following ingredients: mRNA, lipids ((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate), 2 [(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide, 1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3- phosphocholine, and cholesterol), potassium chloride, monobasic potassium phosphate, sodium chloride, dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate, and sucrose.
FACT: Safety in pregnant women has NOT been determined.
FACT: Safety in children has also NOT been determined though
there is currently testing being done for certain age groups as young as 12 years old at Pfizer.
FACT: People who have received monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of COVID-19 may need to wait 90 days before receiving the vaccine but should first consult with their physician.
FACT: Getting vaccinated can help prevent getting sick with COVID-19. While many people with COVID-19 have only a mild illness, others may get a severe illness or they may even die. There is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you, even if you are not at increased risk by standard measures. If you get sick, you also may spread the disease to friends, family, and others around you while you are sick. COVID-19 vaccination helps protect you by creating an antibody response without having to experience sickness.
FACT: Receiving an mRNA vaccine will not alter your DNA. The mRNA stands for messenger ribonucleic acid and can most easily be described as instructions for how to make a protein or even just a piece of a protein. mRNA is not able to alter or modify a person’s genetic makeup (DNA). The mRNA from a COVID-19 vaccine never enter the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA are kept. This means the mRNA does not affect or interact with our DNA in any way. Instead, COVID-19 vaccines that use mRNA work with the body’s natural defenses to safely develop protection (immunity) to disease.
FACT: mRNA has been studied for decades. It is in fact NOT new. Using it in a vaccine vs. using inactivated virus is a newer technology.
FACT: We will NOT likely achieve herd immunity without a vaccine. In most cases, herd immunity is not achieved without an effective vaccine. For COVID-19, the percentage of the population that needs to be infected to achieve herd immunity is estimated to be between 70% and 90%, and this is assuming lasting immunity
FACT: There are two COVID-19 Vaccines currently available in the US – Moderna and Pfizer. Both have an efficacy of about 95% some time following the 2nd dose (doses are about 21 days apart) What are the key differences?
TARGET POPULATION
• The Pfizer emergency use authorization is for people aged 16 and older. Moderna’s is for people 18 and older, though the company has recently begun testing its vaccine in 12- to 17-year-olds.
VACCINE EFFICACY
• Both vaccines have shown astonishing — and essentially equivalent — degrees of efficacy, at least in the early stages after vaccination. How they stack up over the long term remains to be seen. The Pfizer vaccine showed efficacy of 95% at preventing symptomatic Covid infection, measured starting from seven days after the second dose was administered. The vaccine appeared to be more or less equally protective across age groups and racial and ethnic groups. The Moderna vaccine was 94.1% effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19, measured starting from 14 days after the second dose. The vaccine’s efficacy appeared to be slightly lower in people 65 and older, but during a presentation to the Food and Drug Administration’s advisory committee the company explained that the numbers could have been influenced by the fact there were few cases in that age group in the trial. The vaccine appeared to be equally effective across different ethnic and racial groups. Both vaccines seemed to reduce the risk of severe Covid disease. It’s not yet known if either prevents asymptomatic infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Nor is it known if vaccinated people can transmit the virus if they do become infected but don’t show symptoms.
SIDE EFFECT PROFILE
• The most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, and joint pain. Some people in the clinical trials have reported fever. Side effects are more common after the second dose; younger adults, who have more robust immune systems, reported more side effects than older adults. These side effects are a sign of an immune system kicking into gear. They do not signal that the vaccine is unsafe. To date there are no serious, long-term side effects associated with receipt of these vaccines, which will be closely monitored as their use expands.
STORAGE REQUIREMENTS
• Both of these vaccines require an elaborate cold chain, the term used to describe the conditions under which vaccines must be stored during distribution and when they are in the doctors’ offices, pharmacies, or public health clinics where they’ll be administered. But the Moderna vaccine will be far easier to use than Pfizer’s. For starters, Moderna’s must be shipped at -4 Fahrenheit; Pfizer’s must be shipped and stored at -94 Fahrenheit. The former is the temperature of a regular refrigerator freezer; the latter requires special ultracold freezers. Doctors’ offices do not have ultracold freezers; neighborhood pharmacies don’t either. After thawing, a vial of the Pfizer vaccine must be used within five days; Moderna’s is stable at fridge temperature for 30 days and at room temperature for 12 hours.
Do you have more questions? Message me. If I don't know the answer, I DO know how to get the best available information. Don’t want or trust the vaccine ? I understand that too even if I disagree. Remember to social distance and mask up. Those are first lines of defense. Praying we all see a healthy and happy new year because 2020 ain’t been nothing nice. The silver lining is that we are still here - and with purpose 🤗
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