The FDA granted emergency use authorization to three COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. These vaccines are manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen subsidiary. On August 23rd, 2021, the FDA granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, which will henceforth be marketed as Comirnaty (koe-mir’-na-tee) for individuals 16 years and older.Emergency use authorization of the Pfizer vaccine continues to be available for individuals 12 through 15 years of age and for the administration of a third dose in immunocompromised individuals.

Before the FDA approves a vaccine for use, clinical trials are conducted to determine how well it works. The FDA has confirmed that after it “approves a vaccine or authorizes a vaccine for emergency use, it continues to be studied to determine how well it works under real-world conditions.” This means the CDC and its partners will continue to assess the COVID-19 vaccines’ effectiveness under real-world conditions.

The underlying technology for the COVID-19 vaccines was researched and developed for years, and neither the FDA nor the companies skipped any steps to develop the vaccines. The main difference is that instead of a process that happened one after another, which is the usual approach, the steps in this process occurred simultaneously.

The vaccines have different rates of efficacy. The Moderna vaccine is 94.1 percent effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 illness in people starting 14 days after receiving the 2nd dose. Pfizer’s vaccine is 95 percent effective after the same criteria is met. The J&J vaccine is 85 percent effective at preventing severe illness at least 28 days after vaccination and was 100% effective in the trial at preventing hospitalization and death starting 28 days after vaccination. (All rates are per the FDA and CDC.)

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two injections. The only difference between the two-dose vaccines is the amount of time between the administration of each: three weeks with Pfizer and four weeks with Moderna. The J&J vaccine requires one injection.

According to CDC, while the majority of people can safely receive a COVID-19 vaccine, in some cases it may be important to consult with your physician and disclose any preexisting conditions to your vaccine provider. After receiving the COVID-19 vaccination, as with nearly any medicine, there can be side effects. However, the majority of side effects discovered with the COVID-19 vaccines have been minor. Common reactions include discomfort at the site of the injection, muscle pain and fatigue.

Yes. The period of immunity after contracting COVID-19 is not known, and vaccination is still strongly recommended. However, before receiving any COVID-19 vaccine, you should wait until your current symptoms have resolved.

The CDC has created a vaccination distribution priority based on a person’s age, occupation and underlying conditions. You can learn more here.

No, the CARES act of March 2020 has mandated that employer-sponsored health plans provide coverage with no cost share for a COVID-19 vaccine. In the short term, all vaccine costs will be paid for by the federal government and any employer sponsored plans will only be responsible for payment or administration fees. In the medium to long term, additional vaccination and booster shots will likely be covered by employer sponsored plans.

Vaccinating people is just part of the solution. While the vaccine rolls out, we must continue to wash our hands, maintain social distancing and wear masks to combat the pandemic. This is particularly true until we learn more about whether or not vaccinated people can transmit COVID-19.

At this point, that has not been determined. However, there is no current recommendation for any doses beyond the initial one dose for the J&J vaccine or initial two doses for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Overall, we don’t know exactly how this will happen. Since vaccines are being prioritized to those with the highest likelihood of becoming seriously ill, one possible series of events is that the number of deaths and the number of hospitalizations drops precipitously before the case count drops significantly. This is just one possibility, and we will continue to stay very close to this situation and keep you updated.

In mid-April, the FDA recommended that vaccinations with the J&J vaccine be temporarily paused following reports that six women—out of more than seven million who received the vaccine—developed blood clots within one to three weeks after being vaccinated. After careful review, the CDC and FDA concluded that the known benefits of the vaccine outweigh the potential risks. As of April 23rd, 2021, vaccination with the J&J vaccine has resumed, but with a warning that, after vaccination, women under 50 with low platelets should be aware of an increased risk of blood clots.

As per CDC guidelines, people are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after their 2nd dose of both the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, or 14 days after a single-dose of the J&J vaccine.

According to WHO, the current range of approved vaccines is expected to provide at least some protection against new virus variants because these vaccines enable a broad immune response that involves a range of antibodies and cells.

CDC recommends that even after you’ve been fully vaccinated, you should continue taking precautions, but may be able to start doing some things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic. The CDC has additional guidance here.

According to CDC’s advisory committee for immunization practices, COVID-19 vaccines are currently in trials for children and adolescents. Their availability will depend on the results of those trials.

The CDC advisory committee met on Nov 2nd and extended its vaccine recommendations for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to include children from ages 5 to 11, thereby allowing providers to begin vaccinating this age group as soon as possible. The CDC and FDA reviewed the evidence and determined the vaccine to be safe and effective for this age group.

FDA has authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children ages 12 and older. After evaluating the data collected from vaccine trials conducted in adolescents aged 12-15, the FDA has added this group to those approved for use of the vaccine.

The CDC Advisory Committee on immunizations Practices met in mid-May and recommended that 12-15-year-olds could begin receiving the vaccination right away.

The COVID-19 Delta variant was first identified in India in October 2020. This variant has since been reported in more than 80 countries around the globe and has already been detected in at least 41 U.S. states, as per CDC report. According to the World Health Organization, this variant is of concern since It is significantly more transmissible than both the original strain and the Alpha variant (aka B.1.1.7) that was previously in the U.K.

According to CDC, current data suggest that COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States offer protection against most variants that are currently in circulation. However, some variants, including the Delta variant, might cause illness in some people even after they are fully vaccinated. A recent large study out of England showed that getting one dose of mRNA vaccine offered approximately 33% effectiveness against symptomatic illness from the Delta variant, with the 2nd dose increasing effectiveness to 88 % (versus 94 % for the original strain of the virus). The J&J vaccine was not specifically studied in this research, but additional studies looking at the effectiveness of J&J vaccine for the Delta variant are underway. Nevertheless, people with breakthrough infections may get less severely ill or have a shorter illness than they would have if they had not been vaccinated.

According to the CDC, Pfizer, Moderna and J&J are all authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines. While Pfizer and Moderna are mRNA vaccines, J&J is an inactivated adenovirus vaccine that sends a single virus protein into host cells to trigger desired immune response. It is not possible to get Covid-19 from any of the available vaccines. All three vaccines have been reported to occasionally have symptoms that are typically mild and usually subside in 1-3 days. In fact, they are signs that your body is building up a defense. The CDC and FDA, after careful review, are confident that all three vaccines are safe and effective in preventing COVID-19. “We are confident that this vaccine continues to meet our standards for safety, effectiveness and quality. We recommend people with questions about which vaccine is right for them have those discussions with their health care provider,” said Janet Woodcock, M.D., Acting FDA Commissioner.

According to the White House, President Joe Biden has signed an executive order requiring all federal workers and contractors doing business with the government to be fully vaccinated. Furthermore, his six-part plan (still in development stages) will require all employers with more than 100 employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or that unvaccinated employees provide a negative test result weekly. You can find more information on President Biden’s full COVID-19 action plan here.

According to the latest CDC update, unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or immunocompromised individuals aged two or older should wear a mask indoors in public places. The CDC also recommends that fully vaccinated individuals wear a mask indoors due to the increasing number of cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant currently circulating throughout the U.S.

According to the CDC, vaccinated individuals may lose protection against COVID-19 over time, especially against variants like Delta and Omicron. However, protection against severe illness and hospitalization remains strong for most people. Currently, the CDC has approved, and encourages, the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna booster shot for all adults who have been fully vaccinated with either of these mRNA vaccines for six months. The CDC also recommends Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen booster shot for all adults who have been fully vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson shot for two months.

In November 2021, the CDC classified the Omicron variant, which was first reported to the WHO by South Africa as a variant of concern due to its high transmissibility. The variant has since been reported in multiple US states. When compared with the Delta variant, the Omicron variant seems to produce milder symptoms, though studies are still ongoing.