Developing a drug is expensive and drug companies typically wait for phase 2 studies to be complete before investing in phase 3 trials. Because of the pandemic, the United States and other countries provided funding to vaccine developers to start planning and enrolling patients in phase 3 trials at the same time that phase 2 trials were being performed. This greatly accelerated the drug development timeline without compromising the typical trial standards.

Typically it takes a long time to enroll patients into a clinical study but during a pandemic enrollment was much easier. In order to prove efficacy you need enough positive results in the control group and since the prevalence of COVID-19 was so high they were able to achieve statistical significance early on.

An FDA analysis of the Pfizer vaccine's safety and effectiveness on people aged 16 and older found "no specific safety concerns" that would preclude the vaccine's use. The same safety and effectiveness was found in people aged 18 and older for the Moderna vaccine. They made recommendations about vaccine safety to the larger FDA panel. Some mild to moderate side effects are common of all vaccines—mostly swelling, pain, redness at the injection site, fatigue, and sometimes a fever that resolves within about 24 hours. In rare cases, some patients have experienced symptoms of anaphylaxis. All vaccinated patients are monitored for signs of this and treated should it occur.

Clinical trials have data safety monitoring boards that are third party groups assigned to monitor safety and any adverse events in a trial. Analysis is performed by third party scientists with no financial or political motivations or biases.

The first shot of the mRNA vaccine can help reduce the chance of getting symptomatic COVID-19 by 52%. It is 95% effective one week after receiving the second injection of the vaccine.

The vaccine is most effective 1 week after your second dose. You still may get some protection 2-3 weeks after your first dose but you really need that second dose to get the most protection from COVID-19.

A common side effect of the first shot is local injection site soreness of the muscle. With the second dose, about 20% of patients may develop side effects like body aches, chills, and feverishness which typically last a day or less and are treated with acetaminophen or ibuprofen. This is a sign the immune system is revving up and doing what it is supposed to be doing.

At this point, we don't know if patients can spread the virus even after being vaccinated. We do know some individuals who still got COVID-19 after being vaccinated had a much milder form of it. Therefore, we recommend typical virus prevention precautions (wearing a mask, washing hands regularly, maintaining social distance) continue to be followed even in those who are vaccinated.

You would not be as well protected against the virus. Guidelines are still unclear on what providers should do if someone is late or misses their second dose.

Then vaccination may not work properly. When you are vaccinated, you will receive a vaccine card and/or be enrolled in an electronic system so you can keep track of the date, type, and specific batch of vaccine you received. Your second dose of vaccine must be manufactured by the same company that made the first dose of your vaccine.

We won’t know how effective the vaccine is if you receive the second dose after the recommended amount of days. This wasn’t specifically studied in clinical trials and the concern is the vaccine may not be as effective as taking it within 19-23 days after the first dose. The recommended timeline for the second dose of Pfizer is 21 days after the first dose. For Moderna, it is recommended to get the second dose 28 days after the first dose.

Although the first dose provides some protection against the virus, there is a very real chance patients can become infected in between the first and second dose. The first dose provides a 52% reduction in risk of becoming sick with COVID-19. Starting one week after the second dose of the vaccine, patients are 95% less likely to become sick with COVID-19.

The vaccines will not cause you to become infected with COVID-19 and testing for SARS-CoV-2 will still be accurate even after you received both vaccines.

Here’s the expected order for vaccinations in the United States:

Healthcare workers and people in long-term care facilities: The vaccine will first be rolled out to healthcare workers and elderly people living in long-term care facilities. Initially, there won’t be enough doses to vaccinate all healthcare workers, so states will prioritize based on exposure risk, choosing emergency room staff, for instance, to go first. Or they may offer the vaccine to the oldest healthcare workers first.

Essential workers: The 87 million Americans who work in food and agriculture, manufacturing, law enforcement, education, transportation, corrections, emergency response and other sectors deemed essential will likely be second in line, starting in early 2021.

Adults with underlying medical conditions and people over 75: Health officials are hoping to get any remaining older adults who have not been vaccinated sometime in the first quarter. Some states might decide to vaccinate residents over 75 years old or adults with significant medical conditions before some essential workers.

All other adults: Adults in the general population could start receiving the vaccine as early as April 2021although many people likely will have to wait until at least May or June 2021.

The vaccine is currently not available at Carbon Health locations. We are awaiting updates and will let patients know as soon as we do when the vaccine will be available at our clinics.

Only select major hospitals are providing the vaccine at this time.

According to the CDC, vaccine doses purchased with U.S. taxpayer dollars will be given to the American people at no cost. However, vaccination providers will be able to charge an administration fee for giving the shot to someone. Vaccine providers can get this fee reimbursed by the patient's public or private insurance company or, for uninsured patients, by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Provider Relief Fund.

The CDC believes the vaccine is safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women. As always, consult with your doctor if you have any questions or concerns before getting the vaccine.

The overall number of patients in these demographic categories were low but still a significant portion of the study population. In a larger study with more patients of color, the numbers may be slightly different than these but would likely be similar in magnitude.

• It was 95% effective at preventing cases of COVID-19 in both Latinos and non-Latinos.
• It was 100% effective in Black people.
• It was 94% effective in people who were at least 56 years old. (The older you get, the greater the risk of a serious case of COVID-19.)
• It was 95% effective in those who had at least one medical condition that made them more likely to develop a serious case of COVID-19.
• It was 96% effective for people who were obese, another condition that makes people more vulnerable to COVID-19.

The Moderna and Janssen (J&J) vaccines have been authorized for use in adults 18 and older. The Pfizer vaccine has been authorized for children ages 12 and older and adults.

No, not right away. Studies of the new vaccines only measured whether vaccinated people developed symptoms, not whether they got infected. It's possible they got light infections — not enough to make them ill, but enough to pass the virus on to others. The CDC is calling for those who are immunized to continue to wear a mask, maintain social distance, limit the number of people at gatherings, and follow safety protocols.

Individuals will receive a vaccination card after they receive their first shot of the vaccine. Easy to store in a wallet or purse, the vaccination card includes the date of the individual’s next vaccination.

The vaccination card is only used to help health officials keep track of who has gotten the COVID-19 vaccine.

Your vaccination card is not the only existing record of your vaccinations. State providers will report all vaccinations to the immunization registries to ensure patients are getting the correct dosages at the right times with the same vaccine manufacturer.

Additional boosters may be necessary in upcoming years — the current vaccines have been tested only over a period of six months, and it is possible immunity could wane.

Yes, it is recommended you do get vaccinated even if you have already been infected. However, you should wait until your body has been cleared of active COVID-19 symptoms before getting vaccinated.

People who have gotten sick with COVID-19 may still benefit from getting vaccinated. However, you should wait until your body has been cleared of active COVID-19 symptoms before receiving the vaccine.

Yes, you will still need to wear a mask and take typical precautions. The vaccine is not 100% effective in preventing illness though it does seem to reduce the chance of becoming ill with coronavirus. The reason masks are still recommended along with distancing precautions is that vaccinated patients may still be infected and may still be able to spread the virus even if they don’t get sick with COVID-19. We are awaiting clinical trial results to determine whether the vaccine can prevent transmission as well as illness but we still don’t have the data to allow vaccinated patients to stop their preventive measures.

There is no need to self isolate between the two doses of vaccine though everyone should still practice preventive measures (wear a mask, maintain social distance, limit the number of people at gatherings, etc).

The vaccine does not make you immune to COVID-19. However, your chances of NOT getting sick should you get infected with COVID-19 goes up 95%. In other words, you are less likely to have as severe symptoms if you did contract it.

As of now, the answer to whether you will still be able to transmit COVID-19 to others after receiving the vaccine is unclear. More studies need to be conducted to better understand if vaccinated patients can become carriers and then infect others.

After you are fully vaccinated, you may still be able to infect others. We are awaiting more studies to better understand if the vaccine helps prevent you from being infected and doesn’t just prevent you from getting sick. Based on information currently available, we do not recommend you spend time with others with the assumption that you cannot infect others.

For the vaccine to work, we need 60% of the population to be vaccinated. Waiting to get the vaccine could stall the impact of vaccination on the spread in the country. If too many individuals wait to get the vaccine, it will take longer to reach herd immunity. To slow the spread, we would need a comprehensive plan from the government regarding universal masking, distancing, contract tracing, etc.

Although more research is currently being conducted to determine whether the vaccine will be effective againt the Kent variant coronavirus, most vaccine scientists believe that the current vaccine will provide adequate protection.