Medical Experts Answer Your COVID-19 Vaccine Questions: VetXL roundup from March 3, 2021

News about the COVID-19 vaccines is evolving. Just this week, the U.S. government announced a new effort to produce enough vaccines to start immunizing all K-12 teachers and staff and child care workers by the end of March and to inoculate every American adult by the end of May.

There’s always more to learn about the rollout of these vaccines to the military and Veteran community. To provide answers, we invited leading medical experts to our March 3 Veterans Experience Live event, to field your questions about vaccine availability, safety and more:

§ Dr. Jane Kim, chief consultant for preventive medicine at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and leader of the Veterans Health Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine national planning team.
§ Dr. Andrea Lerner, medical officer with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health.
§ Dr. Sara Oliver, M.S.P.H., lieutenant commander at the U.S. Public Health Service and a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vaccine Task Force.

Here’s a summary of the online conversation, with updated information and links to resources:

First, as of this post date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized for emergency use three vaccines as safe and effective for preventing COVID-19 among people age 18 and over (http://rly.pt/3eCPSeA)

§ ​​​​Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s vaccine, both administered in two shots with strict freezer storage requirements.
§ Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine, a one-shot dose that can be more easily stored.

What is VA’s plan for getting these vaccines to Veterans?

Dr. Kim said until production ramps up, VA is following CDC national distribution guidelines while preserving local flexibility so that unused vaccines are tossed out. She said most VA facilities are in phases 1a and 1b and moving to vaccinate those in 1c — people ages 65-74, people age 16-64 with underlying medical conditions and essential workers not in 1b, as defined by the CDC — once the first two groups are covered. Follow these resources to stay on top of what VA is doing with vaccine planning and rollout:
§ Get vaccine-availability alerts: http://rly.pt/VAstayinformed.
§ Review the COVID-19 vaccine plan: http://rly.pt/3bKoXf0
§ See the status of COVID-19 vaccinations and cases: http://rly.pt/3vmhuux
§ Send your VA health provider a secure message: http://rly.pt/3csGMyk

Where can I get the vaccine?

Dr. Kim said check for vaccines in these places:

§ Visit your local VA facility website. Find your VA facility at http://rly.pt/2OZCary. Choose “Health Care Services” in the left-hand navigation bar and then, from the dropdown menu, choose “COVID-19 Vaccines.” Facilities tend to list the groups enrolled in VA care that they are vaccinating and the status of the program. Your spouse can be vaccinated at VA if they are the family’s designated primary or secondary caregiver and participating in VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.
§ Use the CDC vaccine locator tool. Find a vaccine appointment in your community at http://rly.pt/3eFouwD
§ Check with your state or local health department or pharmacy. Be sure to sign up for text and/or email alerts. (Find yours here: http://rly.pt/2Opaw7n)

Is the vaccine safe?

The decision to get vaccinated is a personal one, but the doctors pointed out these facts:

§ It is tested in clinical trials. Concern about the safety of a new vaccine is understandable. Dr. Kim noted that the COVID-19 vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization (EAU) were first tested in clinical trials. “An EUA includes the same steps taken in full-term clinical trials, only with a consolidated timeline,” she said. The vaccines were found to be highly effective across different ages, genders, races and ethnicities, with no series side effects. And they are continually monitored for safety and effectiveness. She recommended reading through these publications for facts about COVID-19 vaccines: http://rly.pt/38GVdOl and http://rly.pt/3ljlS8N

§ It is safe for women who want to start a family. The vaccine is safe for women of child-bearing age, Dr. Kim said, adding that no evidence exists that the COVID-19 vaccine impacts the ability to get pregnant. “In addition,” she said, “there is no evidence suggesting that fertility problems are a side effect of ANY vaccine.” (More information about vaccination if you are pregnant or breastfeeding is at http://rly.pt/3tmRtcs.)

§ It is approved for most people with underlying medical conditions. Having a heart condition, hypertension, high body mass index or another health condition can put you at risk of severe illness if you contract COVID-19, said Dr. Oliver. The FDA has approved the COVID-19 vaccine for these and other such conditions, she said, as long as you haven’t had an immediate or severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. (Get a full list of each vaccine’s ingredients on CDC’s website, http://rly.pt/3eCPSeA)

What else do I need to know about the vaccine?

§ It’s pretty painless for most people. You may feel some mild side effects from the vaccine, but they go away in a few days, Dr. Kim said, adding these are signs our bodies are building protections. The most common after effects are pain and swelling at the injection site and fever, chills, tiredness or headache. (Learn what to expect at http://rly.pt/3cvvWrn)

§ Don’t ditch your mask. Vaccines show great promise in preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19. Confirmed cases are down from an all-time-high of over 402,000 on Dec. 20, 2021, to just under 58,000 on March 4, 2021. Less is known about the vaccine’s ability to prevent transmission or protect against emerging variants. (However, some evidence suggests all three have levels of effectiveness against the variants, Dr. Kim said.) Until more studies are done, officials recommend that in the post-vaccination period we continue to wear masks, keep away from crowds and follow other CDC guidelines.

§ If you recovered from the virus, get a shot (or two). If the two-shot Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna options are the vaccines available to you, Dr. Oliver said the recommendation is to take both shots. However, as the one-shot Johnson & Johnson Janssen option becomes available, most experts agree it is highly effective. And although the need for booster shots is not established at this time, Dr. Lerner said as a precaution, “planning is underway to test booster shots to protect against variant versions of SARS-CoV-2.”

Learn more

§ Check out the full Q&A session: https://rly.pt/383xIhW
§ Register for VA COVID-19 vaccine updates: http://rly.pt/VAstayinformed.
§ View VA’s COVID-19 frequently asked questions page: http://rly.pt/VAcovidFAQ.
§ View March 3 remarks about the White House plan to ramp up vaccine production: http://rly.pt/3eJEoG6
§ Locate previous VetXL roundups here: http://rly.pt/3tmNnkM