Public Employee Press: PEP Talk
Vaccine fact sheet
By DIANE S. WILLIAMS
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New York State and New York City government websites provide the facts about COVID-19 vaccines. Here are just a few:
- Currently, three COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are FDA-approved for emergency use.
- These vaccines do not contain live coronavirus and cannot make you sick with the virus.
- The vaccines are tested and safe. Pfizer and Moderna show 95% efficacy against severe coronavirus and COVID. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 72% effective.
- The science for the mRNA vaccine has been in development since 1989. It is used against the flu virus, Zika virus, and other viruses. The mRNA vaccine teaches immune systems how to recognize and fight COVID-19 with proteins that trigger immune responses.
- The mRNA vaccines cannot interact with or affect your DNA.
- Getting the COVID-19 vaccine does not eliminate the need for preventive practices that include washing hands, social distancing, wearing masks, and other CDC safety protocols.
- A COVID-19 vaccine does not make you immune to COVID-19. It is possible to get infected before or just after vaccination and get sick with COVID-19.
- If you do contract COVID-19 after getting both doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, you may have a less severe case.
- Immunization may not last. Science indicates it may require yearly inoculation.
Talk to your doctor and decide what is best for you.
For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine, visit: www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccines.page
