Safety is a top priority while federal partners work to make COVID-19 vaccines available to anyone recommended to get one. Safety is considered before any vaccine is recommended for use.

Learn more about how CDC and its partners are ensuring the safety of COVID-19 vaccines: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety.html

CDC’s new v-safe tool uses text messages and surveys to check in with you after you get a COVID-19 vaccine. You can quickly tell CDC how you’re feeling and if you have any side effects. Get vaccinated, then:

• Go to vsafe.cdc.gov
• Click “Get started”
• Fill in all requested information
• Verify your smartphone
• Add your vaccine information
• Wait for your first check-in

Learn more about v-safe and how to register: https://bit.ly/3izTu0Z

COVID-19 vaccination helps keep you from getting COVID-19.
The vaccines currently available in the United States are effective at preventing COVID-19, according to clinical trials, and are important tools to stop the pandemic.
Learn more: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html

Q: How many people need to get a #COVID19 vaccine for herd immunity?

A: While experts don’t yet know how many people would need to get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, vaccination is a safer way to build protection than getting sick.

For more FAQs, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html

Side effects after getting a #COVID19 vaccine are normal signs your body is building protection.

Side effects may even feel like flu and might affect your ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days.

Learn more about what to expect after getting vaccinated, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/expect/after.html

Even as vaccine distribution begin, we each need to do our part of prevent the spread of COVID-19. You should layer steps to help protect yourself and others from COVID-19.

• Wear a mask that covers your mouth AND nose.

• Stay at least 6 feet from people who don’t live with you, and avoid crowds.

• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol.

• Get a COVID-19 vaccine when it is your turn.

Help slow the spread of COVID-19. Learn more:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html

No. None of the authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines or COVID-19 vaccines currently in development in the United States contain the live virus that causes COVID-19. This means that a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19.

There are several different types of vaccines in development. All of them teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Sometimes this process can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal and are a sign that the body is building protection against the virus that causes COVID-19. Learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work.

It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity (protection against the virus that causes COVID-19) after vaccination. That means it’s possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and still get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.

Learn more at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html

(Info from the CDC – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html)

All the COVID-19 vaccines being used have gone through rigorous studies to ensure they are as safe as possible. Systems that allow CDC to watch for safety issues are in place across the entire country.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines that have been shown to meet rigorous safety criteria and be effective as determined by data from the manufacturers and findings from large clinical trials. Watch a video describing the emergency use authorization. Clinical trials for all vaccines must first show they meet rigorous criteria for safety and effectiveness before any vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccines, can be authorized or approved for use. The known and potential benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine must outweigh the known and potential risks of the vaccine.

You may be concerned about getting vaccinated now that COVID-19 vaccines are available in the United States. While more COVID-19 vaccines are being developed as quickly as possible, routine processes and procedures remain in place to ensure the safety of any vaccine that is authorized or approved for use. Safety is a top priority, and there are many reasons to get vaccinated.

Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• All COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States have been shown to be highly effective at preventing COVID-19. Learn more about the different COVID-19 vaccines.
• All COVID-19 vaccines that are in development are being carefully evaluated in clinical trials and will be authorized or approved only if they make it substantially less likely you’ll get COVID-19. Learn more about how federal partners are ensuring COVID-19 vaccines work.
• Based on what we know about vaccines for other diseases and early data from clinical trials, experts believe that getting a COVID-19 vaccine may also help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19.
• Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, particularly people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
• Experts continue to conduct more studies about the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on severity of illness from COVID-19, as well as its ability to keep people from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.

Learn more at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html

Talk to your doctor online, by phone, or e-mail.

• Use telemedicine, if available, or communicate with your doctor or nurse by phone or e-mail.
• Talk to your doctor about rescheduling procedures that are not urgently needed.

If you must visit in-person, protect yourself and others

• If you think you have COVID-19, notify the doctor or healthcare provider before your visit and follow their instructions.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a mask when you have to go out in public.
• Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.
• Stay at least 6 feet away from others while inside and in lines.
• When paying, use touchless payment methods if possible. If you cannot use touchless payment, sanitize your hands after paying with card, cash, or check. Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds when you get home.

To learn more visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/doctor-visits-medicine.html