What is the COVID-19 vaccine?
A COVID‐19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19).
What are the side effects of the COVID-19 booster vaccine?
About 80 percent of trial participants reported it, followed by fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, chills, nausea and vomiting, and fever.
Does the COVID-19 vaccine protect against the flu?
Schaffner added that some people have asked him whether the Covid-19 vaccine protects against flu or vice versa. They do not. “You do have to get both vaccines,” he said. “The Covid vaccine will not protect against flu.
How does the COVID-19 vaccine work?
COVID-19 vaccines help our bodies develop immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 without us having to get the illness.
What is the updated COVID-19 Omicron booster?
This new bivalent vaccine specifically targets BA.4 and BA.5 variants that are here, now and circulating. The bivalent vaccine broadens antibody response.
Are long term side effects possible with the COVID-19 vaccine?
Benefits of Vaccination Outweigh the Risks Serious side effects that could cause a long-term health problem are extremely unusual following any vaccination, including COVID-19 vaccination.
What does the COVID-19 vaccine prevent?
Scientists are monitoring how long COVID-19 vaccine protection lasts. COVID-19 vaccines work well to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death. However, public health experts are seeing decreases in the protection COVID-19 vaccines provide over time, especially for certain groups of people.
How does COVID-19 compare to the flu?
Flu and COVID-19 are both contagious respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses. COVID-19 is caused by infection with a coronavirus (called SARS-CoV-2) and seasonal flu (most often just called “flu”) is caused by infection with one of many influenza viruses that spread annually among people.
Is it possible to have the flu and COVID-19 at the same time?
There have been some reports about people being infected with two concurrently.We do know that all of these viruses have the potential to shed for a long time, so it may be true that someone could test positive for both COVID-19 and RSV, but RSV is the only one causing symptoms.
How does a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine work?
These vaccines contain material from the virus that causes COVID-19 that gives our cells instructions for how to make a harmless protein that is unique to the virus. After our cells make copies of the protein, they destroy the genetic material from the vaccine.
Will a COVID-19 vaccine alter my DNA?
No. COVID-19 mRNA vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way.
Does your immune system get stronger after COVID-19?
Any time you catch a virus and recover from the illness, you retain antibodies. These antibodies help your body fight off future infections so that you either don't get sick or have milder symptoms.
Which organ system is most often affected by COVID-19?
COVID-19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 that can trigger what doctors call a respiratory tract infection. It can affect your upper respiratory tract (sinuses, nose, and throat) or lower respiratory tract (windpipe and lungs).
What is the difference between a booster shot and an additional shot of COVID-19?
An additional primary shot of a COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for people who are vaccinated and might not have had a strong enough immune response. In contrast, a booster dose is recommended for people who are vaccinated and whose immune response weakened over time.
How long do body aches and muscle pains last from COVID-19?
Body aches or muscle pains may be an early symptom of COVID-19, often appearing at the very start of the illness and lasting for an average of 2-3 days. Unfortunately, COVID-19 body aches can sometimes last much longer and are commonly reported in people with long COVID-19 or post COVID-19 syndrome.
Does vitamin D affect COVID-19?
Vitamin D plays a role in the body's immune system and is known to enhance the function of immune cells. In this case, Vitamin D inhibits some of the inflammation that can make COVID-19 more severe.
What is vaccination?
Vaccination is a simple, safe, and effective way of protecting you against harmful diseases, before you come into contact with them. It uses your b...
How does a vaccine work?
Vaccines reduce risks of getting a disease by working with your body’s natural defenses to build protection. When you get a vaccine, your immune sy...
When should I get vaccinated (or vaccinate my child)?
Vaccines protect us throughout life and at different ages, from birth to childhood, as teenagers and into old age. In most countries you will be gi...
Why should I get vaccinated?
Without vaccines, we are at risk of serious illness and disability from diseases like measles, meningitis, pneumonia, tetanus and polio. Many of th...
What diseases do vaccines prevent?
Vaccines protect against many different diseases , including: Cervical cancer Cholera COVID-19 Diphtheria Ebola virus disease Hepatitis B Influen...
Who can get vaccinated?
Nearly everyone can get vaccinated. However, because of some medical conditions, some people should not get certain vaccines, or should wait before...
What is in a vaccine?
All the ingredients of a vaccine play an important role in ensuring a vaccine is safe and effective. Some of these include: The antigen. This is a...
Are vaccines safe?
Vaccination is safe and side effects from a vaccine are usually minor and temporary, such as a sore arm or mild fever. More serious side effects ar...
Are there side effects from vaccines?
Like any medicine, vaccines can cause mild side effects, such as a low-grade fever, or pain or redness at the injection site. Mild reactions go awa...
Overview
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins. The agent stimulates the body's immune system to recognize the agent as a threat, destro…
Effects
There is overwhelming scientific consensus that vaccines are a very safe and effective way to fight and eradicate infectious diseases. The immune system recognizes vaccine agents as foreign, destroys them, and "remembers" them. When the virulent version of an agent is encountered, the body recognizes the protein coat on the virus, and thus is prepared to respond, by first neutralizing t…
Types
Vaccines typically contain attenuated, inactivated or dead organisms or purified products derived from them. There are several types of vaccines in use. These represent different strategies used to try to reduce the risk of illness while retaining the ability to induce a beneficial immune response.
Some vaccines contain live, attenuated microorganisms. Many of these are acti…
Valence
Vaccines may be monovalent (also called univalent) or multivalent (also called polyvalent). A monovalent vaccine is designed to immunize against a single antigen or single microorganism. A multivalent or polyvalent vaccine is designed to immunize against two or more strains of the same microorganism, or against two or more microorganisms. The valency of a multivalent vaccine may be denoted with a Greek or Latin prefix (e.g., tetravalent or quadrivalent). In certain …
Other contents
Vaccines typically contain one or more adjuvants, used to boost the immune response. Tetanus toxoid, for instance, is usually adsorbed onto alum. This presents the antigen in such a way as to produce a greater action than the simple aqueous tetanus toxoid. People who have an adverse reaction to adsorbed tetanus toxoid may be given the simple vaccine when the time come…
Nomenclature
Various fairly standardized abbreviations for vaccine names have developed, although the standardization is by no means centralized or global. For example, the vaccine names used in the United States have well-established abbreviations that are also widely known and used elsewhere. An extensive list of them provided in a sortable table and freely accessible is available at a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web page. The page explains that "The abbreviation…
Licensing
A vaccine licensure occurs after the successful conclusion of the development cycle and further the clinical trials and other programs involved through Phases I–III demonstrating safety, immunoactivity, immunogenetic safety at a given specific dose, proven effectiveness in preventing infection for target populations, and enduring preventive effect (time endurance or need for revaccination must be estimated). Because preventive vaccines are predominantly eval…
Scheduling
In order to provide the best protection, children are recommended to receive vaccinations as soon as their immune systems are sufficiently developed to respond to particular vaccines, with additional "booster" shots often required to achieve "full immunity". This has led to the development of complex vaccination schedules. Global recommendations of vaccination schedule are issued by Str…
History
Types of Vaccines
- There are many different types of vaccines. One common type of vaccine is a "live vaccine." This type of vaccine contains a small amount of a live virus or bacteria. Before the vaccine is given, scientists weaken the virus or bacteria so it cannot make a person sick. When a person gets a live vaccine, their immune system learns to recognize and fight off that virus or bacteria. Then, if th…
Effectiveness
- Vaccines do not guarantee complete protection from a disease.In other words, a person can get a disease that they were vaccinated against. Sometimes, this happens because the person's immune system did not respond to the vaccine (it did not "learn" how to fight off the disease after the person got the vaccine). This may happen because the person's immune system is already …
Controversy
- Since vaccines first existed, there have been people who did not agree with the idea of using vaccines. Around the world, most scientists and doctors agree that the benefits of using vaccines are much greater than the risks. The adverse effects from vaccines are rare. Not vaccinating people is a much greater risk, because vaccines prevent suffering and death from infectious dis…
Economics of Development and Patents
- One challenge in developing vaccines is economic. The diseases that most need vaccines today – HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis – exist mostly in poor countries. Companies that make vaccines would not make much money because many of the people who need them are too poorto pay for them. There would also be financial and other risks to these companies if they tried making ne…
Additional Components in Vaccines
- Vaccines often contain other things besides the active vaccine (the weakened or dead virus or bacteria). For example, vaccines may contain: 1. Aluminumsalts or gels. These are added to help the immune system respond earlier, and more strongly, to the vaccine. They allow a lower dose of the vaccine to be given. 2. Antibioticsare added to some vaccines to prevent bacteria from growi…
Use in Veterinary Medicine
- Animals are vaccinated to keep them from getting diseases, and to keep them from infecting humans with diseases. Pets as well as livestockare routinely vaccinated. In some instances, populations of wild animals may be vaccinated. Sometimes, wild animals are vaccinated by spreading vaccine-laced food in a disease-prone area. This method has been used to try to contr…
Several Trends in Vaccine Development
- Nowadays, vaccines are given to people of all ages.
- Combinations of vaccines are becoming more common. Vaccines containing five or more parts are used in many parts of the world.
- New methods of giving vaccines are being developed. Some of these new delivery systems include skin patches, aerosols given through inhalation devices, and eating genetically engin…
- Nowadays, vaccines are given to people of all ages.
- Combinations of vaccines are becoming more common. Vaccines containing five or more parts are used in many parts of the world.
- New methods of giving vaccines are being developed. Some of these new delivery systems include skin patches, aerosols given through inhalation devices, and eating genetically engineeredplants.
- Scientists are designing vaccines to make people's natural immune responses stronger.
Vaccination Versus Immunization
Herd Immunity
- Herd immunity is an important part of how vaccines work. A herd is a group of animals. Herd immunity happens when most of the animals in a group are immune to an infection. If most animals are immune they cannot get the disease. If they do not get the disease, they cannot give it to other animals. So even one animal who is not immune is safer. If none of the other animals in …
Types of Vaccines
- There are different types of vaccines: 1. Inactivated vaccines contain particles (usually viruses). These have been grown for the purpose. They have been killed, using formaldehydeor by other means. But the virus still looks intact; the immune system can develop antibodies against it. 2. Attenuated vaccines contain live viruses, that have been weakened. They will reproduce, but ver…
Safety of Vaccination
- Today in modern countries almost all people are vaccinated, which has caused many serious diseases to become rare. However, some people argueagainst vaccination, as they are worried about possible side effects from the vaccination. Vaccinations do have some side effects. These include swelling and redness around the injection site, a sore arm, or fever. These effects are be…
Origin
- The word "vaccine" was created by Edward Jenner. The word comes from the Latin word vacca, meaning cow. A virus that mainly affects cows (Cowpox) was used in the first scientific demonstrationthat giving a person one virus could protect against a related and more dangerous one.
History of Vaccination
- The first vaccination ever was for smallpox. The earliest hints of the practice of inoculation for smallpox in Chinacome during the 10th century. In 1796 an English doctor, Edward Jenner, noticed something. He saw that people who got cowpox did not get sick from smallpox. He gave a young boy the cowpox virus to protect him from smallpox. This was done by scratching liquid …
Other Websites
- World Health Organization about vaccines Archived 2009-11-11 at the Wayback Machine
- Sabin Vaccine Institute
- Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research Archived 2005-08-26 at the Wayback Machine
- Walter Reed National Vaccine Healthcare Centers Network (US) Archived 2007-04-30 at the Wayback Machine