This week, health care workers on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic began receiving the first doses of Pfizer’s vaccine distributed in the U.S. It’s a momentous milestone that will hopefully mark the beginning of the end of this virus — but only if Americans continue to follow health guidelines in these critical next few months and, when it’s their turn, actually get in line to be inoculated.
To have the best chance of reaching the presumed 70% immunity required to effectively banish the virus, the public needs to understand the benefits — and risks — associated with the vaccine. The more clear-eyed information is out there, the less likely misinformation can derail the effort.
Both Pfizer’s approved vaccine and Moderna’s drug — which is expected to receive FDA approval as soon as this week — require two doses for full inoculation. Once a patient receives their first shot, they’ll need to wait a few weeks before coming back to get their second and final shot. It’s imperative that patients do not drop out after the first dose — especially if they feel like getting cold feet once the side effects kick in.
Two British health care workers who received Pfizer’s vaccine last week had allergic reactions to the shots — but such reactions are likely rare, researchers say, and both workers already carried EpiPens because of a history of allergies. Both have recovered, but British health authorities have advised that those who’ve had a “serious allergic reaction to medicines, vaccines or foods” should avoid Pfizer’s vaccine. Otherwise healthy people should have little to worry about.
Like any vaccination, a COVID-19 inoculation will come with side effects, leaving many people feeling sick for a day or two. This temporary discomfort is normal: The side effects are a result of your immune system building its defenses against the spike proteins found on the virus particles, so you might experience some of the same symptoms that a COVID-19 infection would give you, just on a small scale. But once your body builds up its defenses, those symptoms will pass, and your body will be ready to thwart the actual virus’ attempts to enter your system if you encounter it.
A very small number of volunteers in Pfizer and Moderna’s clinical trials developed Bell’s palsy, or partial facial paralysis, after becoming inoculated. But the FDA says there’s no substantial evidence to suggest that the vaccine and the paralysis are causally related: Out of the nearly 75,000 combined patients in Pfizer’s and Moderna’s trials, only seven who actually received the vaccine (rather than a placebo) developed the palsy — proportionate to the rate of people who develop it in the general population, outside of any trials or vaccinations. Plus, Bell’s palsy is temporary for most people, and two of the trial volunteers have already recovered. According to health experts and institutions, these reports should not be a cause for concern.
The distribution of vaccines, under a year after the pandemic first began, is a miraculous feat, and we credit each scientist, health official and leader responsible for such an efficiently, safely executed operation. But it’s going to take everyone doing their part to see it to its conclusion. To instill in American citizens that necessary trust, we will continue our own operation: convey information and combat misinformation.