More and more people are getting the coronavirus vaccine as states increase their eligibility requirements. If your commitment is on the horizon, there are a few things you need to know to prepare. With limited data available on what could affect the effectiveness of COVID vaccines, many health experts recommend extra precautions, such as not taking certain OTC drugs before the injection. Even the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has some stipulations on what you shouldn’t do within two weeks after receiving the COVID vaccine. Read on to find out what you should avoid before and after vaccination and to avoid things you should avoid, do not do this until a month after your COVID vaccine, experts warn.
When it comes to vaccinating, don’t do a one-stop shop. According to the CDC, your COVID vaccine must be administered alone. This means that you need to “wait at least 14 days before receiving any other vaccine” after receiving the coronavirus vaccine. And if you have received any other vaccine, such as the flu vaccine or the herpes zoster vaccine, you need to “wait at least 14 days before receiving the COVID-19 vaccine”. And for more vaccine guidance, the CDC says that these three side effects mean that your vaccine is working.
The CDC cites the “lack of data on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines administered simultaneously with other vaccines”, as the reason why they recommend waiting at least 14 days before or after the coronavirus vaccine to receive any another type of vaccine. Currently, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are almost 95% effective after two doses, and there is insufficient data to know whether another vaccine given at the same time would decrease that effectiveness or not.
However, the data is always evolving. According to the CDC, the agency “can update this recommendation” as soon as there is more information about the safety and effectiveness of administering the COVID vaccine at the same time as other vaccines. And for more news about the coronavirus, the UK’s Top Scientist has a scary COVID alert for Americans.
Errors happen, which can cause you to receive the COVID vaccine and another vaccine up to 14 days apart. However, the CDC states that if it does, “you don’t need to be revaccinated with any of the vaccines”. Instead, you must complete both series of vaccines in their respective schedules. For example, both available COVID vaccines have a two-dose schedule – the second dose of Moderna is 28 days after the first and that of Pfizer is 21 days. And for the most up-to-date information, subscribe to our daily newsletter.
According to the CDC, there may be times when the coronavirus vaccine and other vaccines need to be administered within two weeks of each other. This would happen in situations “where the benefits of vaccination outweigh the potential unknown risks of co-administering the vaccine,” explains the agency. This can include – but is not limited to – vaccination against tetanus for wound care, vaccination against rabies after exposure and vaccination against measles or hepatitis A during an outbreak. The CDC says that the COVID vaccine can also be given within two weeks of another one to avoid barriers or delays, such as to a long-term care facility resident or healthcare professional who received the flu vaccine just before entering the hospital. installation or be hired. And to learn more about the safety of the vaccine, if you have these side effects from the vaccine, don’t take another injection, says the CDC.
This stipulation does not mean that you should skip some vaccines in favor of the COVID vaccine – especially when it comes to the flu vaccine. According to the CDC, the flu vaccine will not protect against the coronavirus, but has been shown to “reduce the risk of illness, hospitalization and death from the flu”. In fact, the CDC said that getting a flu vaccine in the midst of the COVID pandemic may “be more important than ever” as it not only reduces the risk of flu, but also helps to conserve potentially scarce health resources that could be needed for patients with coronavirus. And to learn more about life after vaccination, Dr. Fauci has just confirmed that you can do this after being vaccinated.