Frequently Asked Questions
The long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine finally arrived in December, offering
hope at the end of a long and difficult year. Below are responses to frequently
asked questions with the best information we have at this time.
Why Vaccinate?
- Waiting for “herd immunity” to develop naturally in an entire
community means many senseless deaths will occur.
- Herd immunity will not eradicate the infection. This is clearly shown by
the examples of polio and smallpox, which caused devastating illnesses
for centuries until vaccines were developed.
- While we are still learning how long COVID-19 immunity produced by vaccination
will last, vaccine-based immunity is highly likely to save lives.
- Current bed/nursing ratios at our hospitals show that we are in the midst
of a crisis.
- Oklahoma City/Oklahoma County hospitals are rapidly approaching Tier 4,
meaning more than 39% of hospitalizations are COVID-19 patients.
- We need a healthy work force to care for these patients.
How do vaccines work?
Vaccines stimulate the human body’s protective immune responses so
that, if a person is infected with a pathogen, the immune system can quickly
prevent the infection from spreading within the body and causing disease.
In this way, vaccines mimic natural infection but without actually causing
the person to become sick.
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, but with all types of vaccines,
the body is left with a supply of “memory” T-lymphocytes,
as well as B-lymphocytes (defensive white blood cells) that will remember
how to fight that virus in the future.
It typically takes a few weeks for the body to produce T-lymphocytes and
B-lymphocytes after vaccination. Therefore, it is possible that a person
could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just
after vaccination and then gets 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 and are a sign that
the body is building immunity
Learn more from the CDC about
how vaccines work.
What Vaccines are Ready to be Distributed?
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Pfizer received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA first.
This is the first vaccine OU Health received.
- Pfizer’s vaccine has been shown to be 95% effective.
- It is given in a 2 shot sequence, approximately 21 days apart.
- Moderna’s vaccine has now also received EUA from the FDA.
- Moderna’s vaccine has a 94.1% efficacy rate.
- It will be administered in 2 shots, approximately 28 days apart.
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94%-95% efficacy is outstanding. For example, the flu vaccine is often around only 60% effective.
How did the process of approving the vaccine move so quickly
Traditionally, it has taken many years to develop a vaccine, confirm its
safety and efficacy, and manufacture the vaccine in sufficient quantities
for public use. This timeline has been shortened for the COVID-19 vaccine.
There are several ways this has been made possible.
Some clinical trials have combined Phases 1 and 2 to assess the safety
and immune responses.
Due to the high number of new cases of COVID-19 in many places, differences
in disease risk between those who received the viral vaccine and those
who received the placebo or comparison vaccine can be measured more quickly
than in the absence of a pandemic.
The United States government and others have heavily invested in building
the manufacturing capacity to produce large numbers of vaccine doses before
the findings of the Phase 3 trials are available. Vaccine manufacturers
typically wait until the Phase 3 trial is completed and shows safety and
efficacy before making such a large investment in manufacturing capacity.
None of the factors listed above that contribute to the accelerated development
of a vaccine for COVID-19 imply that safety, scientific or ethical integrity
is compromised, or that short-cuts have been made.
What is an emergency use authorization?
According to the FDA, an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) allows the FDA
to make a product or drug – whether new or not yet proven for a
given use – available during an emergency, provided there are data
to suggest that it is reasonably safe and effective. The basic requirements
for a EUA are:
- a public health threat exists;
- there is reason to believe that the product will be effective in diagnosing,
preventing, or treating the illness;
- the known or potential benefits outweigh the risks; and
- there are no adequate, approved, available alternatives
Who Do We Vaccinate First?
- The phase one list of employees and providers in Oklahoma is much larger
than the number of initial doses received.
- When preparing the list for the first phase of employees to be vaccinated,
OU Health used a risk-based assessment.
- The list included those regularly caring for, or coming into contact with,
people with COVID-19 at OU Health University of Oklahoma Medical Center,
Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health, and OU Health Edmond Medical
Center, as well as the OU Health Physicians clinics.
- As additional shipments of vaccine arrive, we will move through the phases
to vaccinate all employees and providers.
Who Decides Who is in Each Phase?
- Recommendations and decisions about priorities were made by the federal
government and several national groups including the CDC, ACIP, and National
Academies of Sciences. These recommendations were developed further into
a Vaccine Plan by the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
When are patients and other members of the public going to receive the vaccine?
- It is not clear when a vaccine for the public will be available, but it
may be at least six months to one year after approval. The timeline depends
on how rapidly vaccine doses can be produced and distributed.
- As Oklahoma made its way through phase one of vaccine dissemination, we
began preparing to provide vaccine to the public with the greatest needs
– i.e., those age 65-and-older.
- According to the CDC, all adults should be able to get vaccinated later in 2021.
- A COVID-19 vaccine may not be available for young children until more studies
are completed.
Is the Vaccine Safe?
-
It might appear that vaccine development has been rushed, but it’s
important to know that many new scientific developments over several decades
have led to this moment.
The healthcare community is confident in this scientific process.
When developing the vaccine, the following were accelerated:
- Review and approval to begin development
- Funding for development
- Prioritizing development of the vaccine
- Identification and selection of candidate vaccine targets that produced immunity
What wasn’t accelerated:
- Execution of clinical trials
- Interpretation of clinical trial results
- Review of safety
Clinical trials have NOT compromised safety and each has included tens
of thousands of volunteers.
Can you get COVID-19 from the vaccine?
No, it is not possible to get COVID-19 from vaccines. Vaccines will use
an inactivated virus, parts of the virus, or a gene from the virus. None
of these can cause COVID-19.
Are There Side Effects?
- In clinical trials, the vaccine has been found to be well-tolerated.
- After you receive the vaccine, the recipient will be directed to sit and
be monitored for 15 minutes (30 minutes if the recipient has a history
of anaphylaxis) to ensure he or she does not have an immediate allergic
reaction or other negative response. This length of time is pursuant to
FDA guidelines.
-
As with all vaccines, there can be injection site reactions (redness, swelling
and pain) as well as fever, fatigue, headache, chills, vomiting, diarrhea,
muscle pain and/or joint pain.
These symptoms mean your immune system is reacting to the vaccine as designed. They should be mild and short-lived, i.e., one to two days.
- Side effects may be a bit stronger after the second dose, which isn’t uncommon.
What if Someone has Already had COVID-19? Are They Immune or Should They
Get the Vaccine?
When people recover from some viral infections, such as measles or mumps,
they are protected against reinfection and would not need to be vaccinated.
However, for other diseases, such as pneumonia or flu, it is important
to be vaccinated despite having the disease because the vaccine protects
against several strains or types of the pathogen and thus can still be valuable.
There is not enough information currently available to say if or for how
long after infection someone is protected from getting COVID-19 again.
Early evidence suggests natural immunity from COVID-19 may not last very
long, but more studies are needed to better understand this.
If protection only lasts for several months, vaccination could be of benefit.
How Soon After Getting the Vaccine Will I be Protected?
- We do not know how long protection will last following vaccination, but
long-term protection will be measured in Phase 3 trials and other groups
prioritized for early vaccination. There have already been cases where
individuals are infected twice but most often the second illness was mild
or without any symptoms. This can be expected with an immune response
that protects against disease but not infection.
Once I’m Vaccinated, Will I Still Need to Wear a Mask/Practice Social
Distancing?
- Yes! Vaccines boost the immune system so it is ready to fight the virus
if you are exposed, but we don’t yet fully know whether vaccinated
people could still be able to transmit the virus even if they themselves
are not made ill by it. Since we won’t have enough vaccine to protect
everyone right away, you will still need to wear a mask and follow other
precautions such as practicing social distancing and frequently washing
your hands to help reduce your chance of being exposed to and spreading
the virus.
What if Someone Has an Underlying Health Condition, Auto-Immune Ailment,
Severe Allergies or is Pregnant, Lactating or Concerned About Fertility.
Should They Still be Vaccinated?
- Anyone in these situations should check with their healthcare provider
prior to vaccination.
- In general, for those with underlying health conditions/auto-immune ailments,
the risk of getting the disease is usually considered worse than any risks
that might come from the vaccine.
- Anyone with a history of immediate-onset anaphylaxis to a food, drug or
vaccine should not receive the vaccine. A second dose of the vaccine should
not be given to anyone who experiences anaphylaxis to the first dose.
- While research is still being conducted, this vaccine is not currently
recommended during pregnancy or breast feeding and it is recommended that
women of childbearing age avoid pregnancy before vaccination and for at
least two months after their second dose.
Who is paying for the COVID-19 vaccine?
Vaccine doses purchased with U.S. taxpayer dollars will be given to the
American people at no cost. However, vaccination providers will be able
to charge an administration fee for giving the shot. Vaccine providers
can get this fee reimbursed by the patient’s public or private insurance
company or, for uninsured patients, by the Health Resources and Services
Administration’s Provider Relief Fund.
Will the flu vaccine protect me from COVID-19?
A flu vaccine will not protect you from getting COVID-19, but it can prevent
you from getting the flu at the same time as COVID-19. This can keep you
from having a more severe illness. The CDC believes it’s likely
that flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID-19 will both be spreading
throughout winter. That means that getting a flu vaccine is more important
than ever.
What is herd immunity?
Herd immunity is a term used to describe when enough people have protection—either
from the previous infection or from vaccination—that it is unlikely
a virus or bacteria can spread and cause disease. As a result, everyone
within the community is protected even if some people don’t have
any protection themselves.
What percentage of the public need to be vaccinated to have herd immunity
to COVID-19?
Experts do not know what percentage of people would need to be vaccinated
to achieve herd immunity to COVID-19. The percentage of people who need
to have protection to achieve herd immunity varies by disease.
What’s in the COVID-19 vaccine?
According to Pfizer and BioNTech, 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.
What is mRNA?
According to the CDC, messenger RNA, or mRNA vaccines, teach our cells
how to make a protein that triggers an immune response inside our bodies.
That immune response, which produces antibodies, protects us from getting
infected if the real virus enters our bodies.
mRNA Facts:
-
They cannot give someone COVID-19.
- mRNA vaccines do not use the live virus that causes COVID-19.
- They do not affect or interact with our DNA in any way.
-
mRNA never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA (genetic
material) is kept.
- The cell breaks down and gets rid of the mRNA soon after it is finished
using the instructions.
-
Learn more from the CDC about
mRNA vaccines.
How are the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines similar and different?
Similarities:
- Both vaccines require two doses.
- Both vaccines developed mRNA without infecting people with COVID-19.
- There is a chance of temporary side effects like tiredness and headaches
with both vaccines.
Differences:
- The second dose of the Pfizer vaccine is given 21 days after the first,
Moderna is given 28 days after the first.
- Storage: Pfizer’s vaccine must be stored in “ultra-low-temperature
freezers” (minus 70 degrees Celsius) and Moderna still needs to
be kept cold, but at a standard freezer temperature (minus 20 Celsius).
- Pfizer's vaccine was authorized for people ages 16 and up. Moderna is still
seeking authorization for people 18 and older.