How long immunity lasts and the most common side effects

In the United States, more than 72 million people, or 21% of the population, received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control. And President Joe Biden said recently that he will order states to make all adults, over 18, eligible for coronavirus vaccines by May 1.

There are currently three coronavirus vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use, by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

As the vaccine supply increases and more people become eligible for the injection (to check your eligibility status, you can use the NBC News plan for your vaccine tool), you may have questions about the vaccination process in addition to the logistics how to get an appointment. Here’s what you need to know.

The Covid vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer use an innovative vaccine technology called messenger RNA, or mRNA, which gives cells instructions on how to make a non-infectious part of the coronavirus spine protein. As soon as the immune system detects copies of the spike protein, it creates antibodies against it. And in the future, if you are exposed to the coronavirus, your body will be able to remember how to make the antibodies to fight it.

In clinical trials, Moderna’s vaccine was 94.1% effective in preventing laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 disease in people who received both doses, and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 95% effective.

The Covid vaccine from J&J, on the other hand, uses adenovirus, a type of virus that causes the common cold, as a vehicle for taking instructions to cells on how to fight the virus. Likewise, when the vaccine is injected into people’s arms, it activates the immune system to create antibodies.

The J&J vaccine was 72% effective against moderate to severe Covid-19 infection in the USA and 66% protective against moderate and severe disease worldwide.

Each state has its own vaccine eligibility plan, so it is a good idea to start with your local or state health department’s website. You can also call your doctor if you are unsure whether your specific conditions or underlying factors meet the criteria.

The CDC VaccineFinder tool can indicate the suppliers and pharmacies near you who have the vaccines. (Private clinics are not currently receiving vaccines for patients, but your doctor may have more information on how to get an appointment.) You need an appointment in most places to receive the vaccine.

There may be additional resources administered by volunteers in order to get a vaccine appointment available to you, depending on where you live. In New York City, for example, the TurboVax website helps people find government-run vaccine sites in the area. Likewise, VaccinateCA helps California residents.

President Biden announced on March 11 that a federally supported vaccine search site would be available on May 1. “No more looking for a consultation day and night for you and your loved ones,” he said during prime-time speech. .

There has been a lot of excitement and anticipation around vaccine appointments. If you are someone who is afraid of needles, focus on taking a deep breath to relax for the moment and consider talking to the person giving you the injection to provide a distraction.

After the injection, you will have to wait 15 minutes to monitor the reactions. You will also receive a card that tells you which vaccine you have had and the date you must return for your second dose.

It is normal to experience some side effects from Covid vaccines a few days after the fact; this is a sign that your immune system is working. Young people tend to have more intense side effects than older people, because young people’s immune systems are more robust.

Common side effects include pain close to where the vaccine was injected, redness and pain, as well as fatigue, headache, chills, fever and nausea, which can last for a few days.

For both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, side effects tend to be more frequent after the second dose is administered, which makes sense: the first dose is intended to trigger an immune response and the second dose increases from there.

The reported rate of fever and chills was more than four times higher after the second dose of Pfizer vaccine compared to the first, according to data from the CDC Vaccine Adverse Event Notification System collected between December 14 and December 13. January.

In Moderna’s clinical trials, less than 1% of people reported fever after the first dose, but 15.6% of those who received the vaccine had fever after the second dose.

The CDC says it is okay to take OTC pain relievers after receiving the vaccine to deal with some of the side effects, but it is not recommended to take it in advance because it can decrease the vaccine’s effectiveness.

You may also have heard about European countries that have stopped using the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine (which is not currently in use in the US) after reports that a small number of people developed a certain blood clot after receiving at least one dose.

The World Health Organization said Monday that “there is no evidence that the incidents are caused by the vaccine”. Experts say the number of cases of blood clots detected is “much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar in other licensed COVID-19 vaccines”, in a statement on Sunday.

It takes your body some time to build an immune response after receiving the vaccine, about two to three weeks, said Dr. Andrew Badley, chairman of the Mayo Clinic’s Covid Research Task Force on February 17.

If you are taking one of the two-dose Covid vaccines, it means that you will have partial immunity to Covid about two weeks after the first dose.

So, 10 to 14 days after the second dose of both double-dose vaccines, “you get a 10-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, during the Conference Precision Medicine World Cup on February 12.

In clinical trials, the J&J vaccine showed protection against hospitalization and death related to Covid from 28 days after vaccination. In J&J clinical data, neutralizing antibodies to Covid were detected in 90% of people after 29 days and in 100% of people 56 days after receiving the injection.

Therefore, a person is considered “fully vaccinated” for Covid two weeks after receiving the second dose of a two-dose vaccine (such as Moderna and Pfizer) or two weeks after receiving the J&J single dose vaccine, according to the CDC. Before that point, you are not fully protected and you need to continue practicing social detachment and wearing a mask.

At this stage, it is not clear how long vaccine-induced immunity from Covid lasts. But Fauci said the antibodies could last at least six months and, potentially, a few years. There are also other forms of immunity that arise, such as T cells, which can help with more extended immunity, but which is currently being studied.

There is emerging evidence that fully vaccinated people are less likely to transmit the virus to others, according to the CDC. Some initial data from Israel suggests that the Pfizer vaccine reduces transmission. And in the J&J tests, they found a 74% reduction in the development of asymptomatic infection, which indicates that the vaccine reduces transmission, former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in March 1st.

The CDC recently launched new guidelines for people who are fully vaccinated, saying it is safe for people who are fully vaccinated to visit others who are also fully vaccinated, as well as some unvaccinated people inside the home, without wearing masks or social distance, according to the guidelines.

But given that only 11% of the US population is fully vaccinated and there is insufficient data on the effect of vaccines on transmission, it is important to follow safety measures outside the home, even if you have had the vaccine.

“Everyone – even those who have been vaccinated – must continue with all mitigation strategies when in public settings,” said CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in a statement on March 9.