Kern Legacy Health Plan | A Legacy of Good Health | Spring 2021

What to know about the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine The first coronavirus vaccine was OK’d for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Dec. 11, 2020. The vaccine was made by Pfizer and BioNTech. And it’s a big step forward in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some important questions and answers about this new vaccine. Q How does the vaccine work? The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine contains genetic material called messenger RNA (mRNA). This small piece of the coronavirus’s mRNA orders the cells in your body to make copies of a distinctive but harmless spike protein that appears on the surface of the coronavirus. These spike proteins trigger an immune reaction. Your body creates antibod- ies, which then protect you from getting sick if you’re exposed to the real virus later. It’s important to note that the vaccine doesn’t contain the real coronavirus. So get- ting the vaccine cannot give you COVID-19. Q How many shots are given and how far apart? This vaccine requires two shots given three weeks apart. Q How long after getting your shots does it take to be effective? Trial data suggest that this vaccine starts to offer some protection about 14 days after the first shot. Q How effective was the vaccine in clinical trials? The vaccine was 95% effective in prevent- ing COVID-19 in clinical trials. That’s very good. FDA’s benchmark for vaccine approval was an efficacy rate of 50%. It is not yet clear how long the vaccine will provide protection or whether it prevents someone from spreading the virus. So it will be important for those who get the vaccine to continue taking other safety precautions. Q What was its safety record in clinical trials? Researchers looked at safety data broken down by age, race, ethnicity, underlying medical conditions and previous COVID-19 infections. There were no safety concerns. Serious adverse events occurred in similar numbers among people who got the vaccine and those who got a placebo. Q What were the most common side effects? The most common side effects among peo- ple who got the vaccine were similar to those of other vaccines, such as fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills and injection site pain. These reactions were more likely to be reported after people got the second of the two vaccine doses. Q Who is the vaccine approved for? The vaccine is approved for people 16 years and older. It has not yet been tested in younger children, pregnant women or people with weak immune systems. You should not get the vaccine if you have had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient of this vaccine or you have had a severe allergic reaction to a previous dose of this vaccine. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk with your doctor about whether to be vaccinated. It only works if we all do our part: When no one or just a few people are vaccinated, the coronavirus spreads easily and makes a lot of people sick. When enough people are vaccinated, it’s difficult for the virus to spread and fewer people get sick. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services How does herd immunity work? Herd immunity helps protect those who can’t get vaccinated yet, such as: Keep distancing. Mask up. Get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Children People with severe vaccine allergies Recovered from COVID-19? Help save others by donating blood plasma. Call Houchin Community Blood Bank Hotline at 661-616-2575 to make an appointment.