Close Icon
Patient Portal Online Bill Pay Send a Cheer Card Careers For Associates Search

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions

Home For Associates COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs

These FAQs will be updated as new information becomes available. 

The FDA Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers for the Pfizer vaccine is here: https://www.fda.gov/media/144414/download 

The FDA Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers for the Moderna vaccine is here: https://www.fda.gov/media/144638/download 

Please note that associates who are age 16 or 17 will require parental consent to receive the vaccine. 

General information: Vaccine and approval process

What are the vaccine options, and how do they work?  

The two vaccine candidates are from Pfizer and Moderna. The Pfizer vaccine received an Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA on December 11. The Moderna vaccine received the same on December 18. Both vaccines are messenger RNA vaccines, or mRNA vaccines. mRNA vaccines are a new, but not unknown, type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases. Instead of using an inactivated virus, mRNA vaccines teach our cells how to make a protein—or even just a piece of a protein—that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.

Researchers have been studying and working with mRNA vaccines for decades. Interest has grown in these vaccines because they can be developed in a laboratory using readily available materials. This means the process can be standardized and scaled up, making vaccine development faster than traditional methods of making vaccines.

mRNA vaccines have been studied before for flu, Zika, rabies, and cytomegalovirus (CMV), but none have received formal FDA approval for human use.. As soon as the necessary information about the virus that causes COVID-19 was available, scientists began designing the mRNA instructions for cells to build the unique spike protein into an mRNA vaccine.

Beyond vaccines, cancer research has used mRNA to trigger the immune system to target specific cancer cells.

mRNA does NOT interact with a person’s DNA, and according to CDC, they are a huge leap forward because they don’t require growing large amounts of live virus to make the vaccine.

More information:

I've heard news about COVID-19 variants. Does the vaccine work on those? 

News of COVID-19 variants has been widely reported. According to CDC, "Multiple COVID-19 variants are circulating globally. In the United Kingdom (UK), a new variant has emerged with an unusually large number of mutations. This variant seems to spread more easily and quickly than other variants. Currently, there is no evidence that it causes more severe illness or increased risk of death. This variant was first detected in September 2020 and is now highly prevalent in London and southeast England. It has since been detected in numerous countries around the world, including the United States and Canada." Read more about COVID-19 variants.

Researchers are actively working to better understand the variants. One crucial question is whether the newly developed vaccines work on the variants. A preliminary study indicates that the Pfizer vaccine can protect against the mutation found in more-contagious variants. More testing is underway.

Were the vaccines developed too quickly to be trusted?

The vaccine candidates were subject to large clinical trials. Both vaccines have received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and will continue to seek full FDA approval. 

For the Pfizer/BioNTech Phase 3 study, more than 43,000 people were enrolled. No serious side safety concerns were observed. The only side effects observed at greater than 2% frequency were fatigue at 3.8% and headache at 2.0%. The vaccine was 95% effective beginning 28 days after the first dose. 170 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were evaluated, with 162 observed in the placebo group (those who did not receive the vaccine) versus 8 were in the vaccine group.

The Moderna Phase 3 study had 30,000 participants. Efficacy was 94.1%, and no serious safety concerns were identified. The most common side effects were injection site pain, fatigue, muscle or joint pain, headache, and redness at the injection site. 196 cases of COVID-19 were observed, of which 185 were in the placebo group (those who did not receive the vaccine).

More information:

What is Operation Warp Speed?

Operation Warp Speed (OWS) is a partnership among components of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and the Department of Defense (DoD).

OWS allowed manufacturers to ramp up production prior to authorization. There were no changes to clinical trials phases.

Operation Warp Speed’s goal has been to produce and deliver 300 million doses of safe and effective vaccines, with the first doses available by January 2021.

Should those who get the vaccine isolate after receiving it?

Isolation is not required following receipt of the vaccine.

What are the vaccine ingredients?

The Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine includes the following ingredients: mRNA, lipids ((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate), 2 [(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide, 1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3- phosphocholine, and cholesterol), potassium chloride, monobasic potassium phosphate, sodium chloride, dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate, and sucrose.

The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine contains the following ingredients: messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), lipids (SM-102, polyethylene glycol [PEG] 2000 dimyristoyl glycerol [DMG], cholesterol, and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine [DSPC]), tromethamine, tromethamine hydrochloride, acetic acid, sodium acetate, and sucrose.

View the FDA Fact Sheets linked above for more information. 

Why does the vaccine require two doses? When is the second vaccine dose given?

The first dose primes the immune system, and your body starts to develop antibodies within about 14 days. The second dose then strengthens the immune response so you can better fight the virus. The second dose of the Pfizer vaccine should be given 3 weeks (21 days) from the first dose. The second dose of the Moderna vaccine should be given 4 weeks (28 days) from the first dose. 

When will the vaccine be available to the public?

We do not know the answer to this question yet. Governor Laura Kelly released vaccine phase information on January 7. Read our blog post about vaccination plans.

If a person receives the vaccine is then exposed to COVID-19, is quarantine still required?

KDHE has said that individuals who have received their second dose of the vaccine and are exposed DO NOT need to quarantine. For how long? We're still not sure about that. 

How long will it be before we will be able to resume “normal” life after the vaccine is distributed?

This is unclear, but Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that he anticipates “some form of normality reasonably quickly into the summer and certainly into the fall” if the vaccine process goes smoothly.

More information:

Will people have to be vaccinated yearly against COVID-19 (similar to influenza)?

We do not have enough information to answer this question yet.

If I get the vaccine, when does my immunity “kick in?” How long does immunity last?

Preliminary indications from clinical trials indicate that immunity takes 1-2 weeks after the second dose to develop. We do not yet know how long immunity lasts.

How is this vaccine different from the flu shot?

The flu vaccine is composed of a combination of inactivated strains of influenza proteins that produce an immune response when injected into the body. A quadrivalent flu vaccine covers four strains of the flu virus. The COVID-19 vaccine is a mRNA vaccine that teaches our cells how to make a protein—or even just a piece of a protein—that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. This technology has been studied, but no mRNA vaccine has yet been FDA approved for human use. 

Why is the vaccine needed for a virus that has had a 98.5% cure rate? Should only high-risk people take the vaccine? If the elderly and vulnerable get the vaccine and immunity from the virus, why do low-risk individuals need to get the vaccine?

The best way to stop the pandemic is for a broad cross-section of society to be vaccinated, including low-risk individuals because although they may be likely to recover, they can also be asymptomatic carriers. 

Will we be given the option of which vaccine we take, or will CHCS just receive one and that is our only option? When will we receive more vaccine? 

CHCS's initial allocation was 150 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Individuals who answered “yes” or "maybe" to the survey had the first opportunity to receive the vaccine. We are not sure when we will receive more vaccine, but we will keep associates informed. 

When will associates working in long-term care be vaccinated? Why are they being vaccinated separately from other associates? 

Long-term care associates and residents are being vaccinated through a different process. Long-term care facilities have a contract with either CVS or Walgreens. Our contract is with CVS. Our initial vaccination clinic date for Eastridge was December 29. Our date for St. Marys Manor was January 4. CVS administered the Pfizer vaccine. Redbud is slated to receive the vaccine January 22.

Can the COVID-19 vaccine be administered within a month of receiving a different vaccine?

CDC recommends that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine not be administered at the same time as other vaccines, but it can be administered after an interval of 14 days after receiving another vaccine.

When will the vaccine be available as ONE dose?

We don’t have this information available at this time.

Will the first and second dose be from the same manufacturer?

Yes. If you receive a dose from one manufacturer, you must receive the second dose from the same manufacturer.

If I have already had COVID-19, should I wait to be vaccinated?

CDC recommends that individuals who have had COVID-19 DO receive the vaccine. We know that reinfection is rare until after 90 days after infection, so individuals may choose to wait until close to the end of that 90-day period, but that wait is not required. Individuals should be out of quarantine and recovered from acute illness before receiving the vaccine.

If I tested positive for COVID within the last 90 days, can I still take the vaccine? Does it matter if it was a “presumed positive” with an antigen test vs. a PCR test?

Regardless of how you tested positive, you are able to take the vaccine if you have tested positive for COVID-19. See answer above.

Do the vaccines contain aborted fetal cells? 

The following response is from Nebraska Medicine. Read the full story.

No, the COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any aborted fetal cells. However, Pfizer and Moderna did perform confirmation tests (to ensure the vaccines work) using fetal cell lines.

But it's important to have the full context: Fetal cell lines are not the same as fetal tissue. Fetal cell lines are cells that grow in a laboratory. They descend from cells taken from elective abortions in the 1970s and 1980s. Those individual cells from the 1970s and 1980s have since multiplied into many new cells over the past four or five decades, creating fetal cell lines. Current fetal cell lines are thousands of generations removed from the original fetal tissue. 

Vaccine side effects and risk

Has there been enough time to evaluate for negative side effects of the vaccine?

Short-term side effects have been minimal, and no safety concerns have been identified. Not enough time has elapsed to determine long-term effects.  

Has the vaccine been tested on individuals with asthma or allergies? Would people with these conditions be more apt to see worse side effects or adverse reactions?

More data will be forthcoming, but CDC reports that the area of concern for Pfizer vaccine is restricted to those who have had previous severe reactions to vaccines or injectable medications. People with allergies to food, pet dander, pollen, latex, and so on CAN receive the Pfizer vaccine. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have questions.

Should I receive the vaccine if I have previously had a reaction to vaccines? If I am unable to take the flu shot because of a previous allergic reaction, should I take this vaccine? 

CDC recommends caution for those who previously had reactions to vaccines or injectable medications. Those with a history of anaphylaxis with items like shellfish or with allergies to food, pets, pollen, latex, and so on CAN receive the Pfizer vaccine. Those who have previously had severe reactions to vaccines or to components of the vaccine should not get a dose. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have questions. 

What do we know about the vaccine’s efficacy and side effects from clinical trials? What do we know about long-term side effects?

The vaccine candidates were subject to the usual process for FDA review. Large clinical trials were conducted.

For the Pfizer/BioNTech Phase 3 study, more than 43,000 people were enrolled. No serious side safety concerns were observed. The only side effects observed at greater than 2% frequency were fatigue at 3.8% and headache at 2.0%. The vaccine was 95% effective beginning 28 days after the first dose. 170 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were evaluated, with 162 observed in the placebo group (those who did not receive the vaccine) versus 8 were in the vaccine group.

The Moderna Phase 3 study had 30,000 participants. Efficacy was 94.1%, and no serious safety concerns were identified. The most common side effects were injection site pain, fatigue, muscle or joint pain, headache, and redness at the injection site. 196 cases of COVID-19 were observed, of which 185 were in the placebo group (those who did not receive the vaccine).

We do not have information about long-term side effects at this time.

More information:

Is it safe to take the vaccine while pregnant or if you are planning to become pregnant? If vaccinated while pregnant, does the vaccine provide immunity to the baby?

CDC recommends that pregnant women who are otherwise part of a group recommended to receive the Pfizer vaccine (such as healthcare workers) should be given the option. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology have agreed. More data should be available soon, but pregnant women should note that they have increased risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 infection, so they should take risk factors of contracting COVID-19 into account (such as positivity rates in their area). 

Does the vaccine cause infertility?

This side effect has not been observed. Learn more from Nebraska Medicine.

If you are unsure whether the vaccine is right for you, the best course of action is to talk to your provider.

Many other sources offer information about this question. Here are a few: 

  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: "Given the mechanism of action and the safety profile of the vaccine in non-pregnant individuals, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are not thought to cause an increased risk of infertility." Read more.
  • The Dispatch: "Several viral social media posts are claiming that the head of Pfizer research said the COVID-19 vaccine causes female sterilization. The posts share a screenshot from a post at a blog called Health and Money News that has since been deleted but has been archived here. The article claimed that the vaccine 'contains a spike protein called syncytin, vital for the formation of human placenta in women.' According to the post, the vaccine’s immune response means 'we are training the female body to attack syncytin-1.' This is a false claim. The COVID-19 vaccine does not cause female sterilization and the head of Pfizer research has not made this claim." Read more.
  • Forbes article
  • Hartford Healthcare post
  • New York Times article

How should I assess my likelihood of having a reaction to the vaccine?

Discuss with your healthcare provider. Information available at this time indicates that risk is low unless you have had previous severe reactions to vaccines, components of the vaccine, or other injectable medications. 

Does the vaccine cause the body of a pregnant woman to attack her placenta?

This side effect has not been observed. 

Does the vaccine cause an autoimmune response? Is it save for individuals who are immunocompromised? 

The Pfizer vaccine was tested on a variety of individuals, including those with autoimmune diseases. CDC reports that the FDA and ACIP did not recommend restricting vaccination among those who are immunosuppressed. Patients with autoimmune diseases did not experience flares in their disease. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have additional questions.

I have had leukemia. Is it safe for me to take the vaccine? 

You should discuss this with your healthcare provider.

If I get the vaccine, how will I be monitored afterward? 

Those who receive the Pfizer vaccine will be asked to stay for observation after receiving the vaccine. According to CDC, those who have not previously had reactions to other vaccines will be monitored for 15 minutes and those who have previously reacted to vaccines should be monitored for 30 minutes. 

A smartphone-based tool called V-safe will be available for those who take the COVID-19 vaccine. The tool uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins. Information is available here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/vsafe.html 

Vaccine and employment at CHCS

Are associates required to get the vaccine?

No. All associates are allowed to make their own decision about vaccination for COVID-19. This vaccination is not a condition of employment at this time.

Could the COVID-19 vaccine be required in the future?

CHCS does not have plans to require the vaccine at this time. This could change in the future, but if it does, the change will be communicated well in advance of changing requirements.

How were associates prioritized to receive the vaccine?

The COVID-19 Response Team and the Vaccine Task Force collected survey responses to determine how many associates wished to receive the vaccine. When doses arrived, we compared the numbers. Associates involved in direct patient care were prioritized.

What will be the work restrictions if I decide not to get the vaccine?

Associates will not have work restrictions if they don’t receive the vaccine.

Will I need to schedule a day off when I get the vaccine? 

It is not necessary to schedule a day off. If you develop symptoms after the administration of the vaccine, contact your manager and employee health ([email protected]). If it is determined you need to take the day off due to symptoms after receiving the vaccine, the absence will not count against you in regards to the attendance policy.

If I get the vaccine, do I still have to wear a mask at work?

Yes. All associates will still be required to wear masks until further notice.

What protections do employees have if they get side effects that keep them from working? Would I have to use my PTO?

Side effects are likely to be mild, but if an associate needs to take time off work because of side effects, normal leave procedures will apply. The Emergency Paid Administrative leave, paid for by CHCS, is still available through December 31, 2020, if you haven’t already exhausted the leave available to you through that program.

What happens if an associate becomes symptomatic after receiving the vaccine?

All Associates receiving the vaccine will be monitored for a minimum of 15 minutes. If an associate becomes symptomatic after leaving the vaccination clinic area, they should report symptoms to their manager just as they would any other illness, and the manager should inform Employee Health. Employee Health will follow up with associates and advise them appropriately.

Should departments “stagger” getting vaccinated in case of reactions or side effects?

CHCS plans to avoid vaccinating full departments all at once to avoid these issues.

Are PRN associates who work with patients eligible to get the vaccine?

Yes. 

If an associate doesn’t take the vaccine and then ends up getting the disease, will there be repercussions at work?

There are no repercussions, and normal leave procedures would apply.

COVID-19 seems more severe than the flu, and we are required to have the flu vaccine as a condition of employment. The COVID vaccine is not required. Why?

CHCS will not require the COVID-19 vaccine at this time because it is new and because associates have many questions. We recognize that receiving a new vaccine may be worrisome for some. We will evaluate future policies when more data becomes available.

Can I get the vaccine at any CHCS location? 

No. Associates who elect to take the vaccine will need to come to Onaga to receive it. Long-term care associates are the exception, because as explained above, we have a contract with CVS to administer vaccine at long-term care locations. 

Will an antibody test be available before receiving the vaccine?

No. CDC does not recommend testing before receiving the vaccine. 

Will I test positive for COVID-19 after I receive the vaccine? 

The Pfizer vaccine will not affect results of nucleic acid amplification or antigen tests. Positive tests for spike proteins via IgM/IgG tests (antibody tests) could indicate either prior infection or vaccination. 

If I get the vaccine and I work in a long-term care environment, will I have to continue testing? 

We do not have enough information to answer this question at this time, but we hope to hear more on this from KDHE or KDADS and will update our practices as appropriate when we are able. 

Cost

If I get the vaccine, what will it cost?

The vaccine will be free to associates.

When CHCS starts vaccinating patients, what will it cost them?

CHCS is working through this. The vaccine will be free, but we are likely to charge for its administration.

 

More resources

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html