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When the new coronavirus pandemic hit last winter, everyone had a number of questions and concerns: “How long will this last?” “Am I going to be sick?” “When will we have a vaccine?”
Now that the coronavirus vaccines have arrived, everyone has more questions: “Are they safe?” “Are they going to make me sick?” “How long it will last?”
To answer your questions, we contacted infectious disease researcher S. Wesley Long, MD, Ph.D., a clinical pathologist and microbiologist at Houston Methodist, who researched COVID-19 and the various new strains and the sports medicine physician Kevin Bernstein, MD, competitive cyclist and medical director at the Peaks Coaching Group, who researched vaccines and created a COVID-19 vaccine webinar for endurance athletes.
Here’s what you need to know.
This is a rapidly developing situation. For the most up-to-date information, check out resources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regularly. This story will be updated as new information becomes available.
Is it safe to get the COVID-19 vaccine?
Yes. “We now have data on millions of people who have been vaccinated, and the CDC data shows that serious allergic reactions are very, very rare,” says Long.
Specifically, the latest CDC report (released on January 22, 2021) reports that more than 4 million people in the United States received the Modern coronavirus vaccine and anaphylaxis – the most worrying potential allergic reaction, which can be fatal – occurred at a rate of 2.5 cases per 1 million shots. A CDC report on the coronavirus vaccine Pfizer-BioNTech earlier this month reported that anaphylaxis occurred at a slightly higher, but still very rare, rate of 11.1 per 1 million vaccines.
“These reactions are incredibly rare and more common in people with a history of severe allergic reactions,” says Long. “Vaccination sites monitor people after the vaccine to ensure that they do not have a serious allergic reaction, which usually happens quickly after the injection.” Medical staff should be equipped to administer an injection of epinephrine (similar to EpiPens for food allergies and bee stings) to anyone suspected of having a serious reaction.
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The biggest safety concern that most people have is that the vaccine happened “very fast,” says Long because there is the impression that it was prepared in a year. In fact, it’s more than 20 years, says Long.
“The mRNA technology (which is being used in the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines) has been around since the late 1990s. Scientists have tried it for other viruses, with varying degrees of success. This experience helped to refine and improve the technology. So, the technology was already there. They just needed the virus to be sequenced, which happened in January, to start working on it for this coronavirus. All the money and resources that were invested in development because of the pandemic allowed it to move forward very quickly. But this technology is not new, ”says Long.
If you are immunocompromised, you can consult your doctor before being vaccinated, but the CDC says that people with autoimmune diseases or who are immunocompromised can get the COVID-19 vaccine, as long as they have no other reasons for not doing so, such as history of severe allergic reactions.
Can the vaccine make you sick?
No. None of the approved vaccines use live viruses. Any reactions you might experience are your immune system doing its job, says Long.
“After you get a vaccine, your immune system produces a response, which is really difficult to predict and varies from person to person,” he says. “Some people feel terrible for a day or two. You may have a low fever. You may experience some muscle pain or fatigue. It can hurt where you took the shot. You may have a headache. All of this just means that the vaccine is doing its job. “
Interestingly, people seem more likely to experience these symptoms after the second booster injection, say Bernstein and Long, probably because that’s when your body puts its immunity on high speed to get around. Although the side effects are not pleasant, they are better than taking COVID-19.
It is important to note that if you do not experience any side effects, it does not mean that the injection did not work. “You can have a good immune response to the vaccine without feeling bad,” says Long.
Will the vaccine change my DNA?
No. This question is circulating because the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are mRNA vaccines.
“The mRNA is the messenger that carries instructions from your DNA to other parts of the cell to make proteins. The mRNA is not transcribed back to DNA and inserted into our genome in our cells. This is not the natural flow of information, ”says Long.
So in the case of these vaccines, scientists have produced a synthetic version of the mRNA that the virus uses to build its spike protein. You get that mRNA injected into your deltoid muscle and those muscle cells produce the virus’s peak protein. Your immune cells recognize that these cells have a peak protein and launch an immune system response to get rid of them and remember what that peak protein will look like next time.
“It’s a very robust natural reaction that mimics what would happen with a real infection,” says Long. “The good thing about this vaccine is that it is very easy to make changes and synthesize mRNA, so this type of vaccine is easy to adapt, if we need to respond to a new variant in the future.”
The proteins never come together to form a real virus, so you can’t get sick with the coronavirus with the injection, explains Bernstein. “If you think of the virus as a Mustang, the mRNA is the instruction sheet on how to make a badge for the car’s hood,” he says. Your body recognizes the entire virus (or Mustang) only from that distinctive part (the emblem) and creates the immunity tools it needs to dismantle it at first sight.
Therefore, the vaccine is safe and will not alter your DNA in any way. As with all vaccines, you may experience some symptoms while the immune system develops a reaction. (See the details of these reactions above.)
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and the John & Johnson vaccines to be launched soon are viral vector vaccines. This means that the vaccine uses a safe and modified version of the virus (also known as a vector), which in this case is the peak protein found on the surface of the coronavirus. This vector is injected, and your body assembles an immune response, which it remembers if it finds these peak proteins in the real virus in the future. They also don’t change their DNA. Viral vector technology is also not new; has existed since the 1970s.
Is the vaccine free?
The injection itself is covered in US taxpayer dollars, so technically, you’ve already paid for it, and yes, it’s essentially free for everyone. That said, vaccine providers may charge an administrative fee to administer the vaccine. This cost can be reimbursed for insurance. Uninsured people may have the cost covered by the Health Resources and Services Administration Provider Aid Fund. No one can be denied the vaccine if they cannot afford it.
How long does the vaccine last?
That is yet to be determined, but so far the immune system’s response seems to last, says Long. “The most recent data is six months from now and most people still have very good protection against vaccination. We will know more over time and they continue to accompany people in clinical trials. “
Can I travel after receiving the vaccine?
Yes. “I did a zone 3, ‘sweet spot’ on the coach the next day and I felt totally good,” says Bernstein. You probably don’t want to plan an epic adventure in the next few days or two if you feel bad. But, unlike exercising with COVID-19, which can be unsafe, there is no health risk after vaccination.
Should I get the vaccine if I have already taken COVID?
Yes. The CDC recommends that even people who have already fallen ill with COVID-19 be vaccinated because it is unclear how long natural immunity lasts and / or whether it is based on the severity of their illness.
“Immunity from the vaccine appears to be stronger for many people than after infection and can be longer lasting,” says Long.
Do I become immune to COVID after receiving the vaccine?
Not immediately. “It takes a few weeks after the first injection to see an increase in antibodies and you don’t get full protection until a week or two after the second vaccine [which is 21 to 28 days later depending upon the type of vaccine], ”Long says.
“I know people who took COVID between the first and the second dose,” says Long. The vaccine also prevents you from becoming very sick, but not necessarily from contracting the disease and having mild symptoms or becoming asymptomatic.
In addition, the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are about 95% effective, which is very high, but not 100%. (The Johnson & Johnson single injection vaccine, which has not yet been released, is reportedly 85 percent effective against serious illnesses and 66 percent effective in preventing moderate to severe infections.) So there will still be a small number of people who they can still catch the virus after being fully inoculated.
Can I stop using the mask after getting the vaccine?
Not yet. (We know. We know. We are also anxious.) Again, the effects of vaccines are not immediate. Therefore, you are not protected until a few weeks after your booster injection. And yet, if you are inoculated, but others are not, you may still get the virus and infect it, says Long.
Therefore, we will need to take the usual protections – masking, detachment and hand washing – until the launch of the vaccine allows us to achieve “herd immunity”, the point at which a sufficient number of us are immunized to prevent further spread. We expect things to continue to improve during the spring and summer until early autumn if estimates remain on track, says Long.
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Originally published