COVID-19

COVID-19 vaccines are recommended for:

• Adults age 65 years and older
• Children and adults who have chronic health conditions
• Children age 6-23 months and adults 50-64 years of age
• Older children who have or live with someone who has a chronic health condition
• Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding
• Residents of long-term care facilities
• All adults and children with impaired immune systems due to disease (e.g., cancer or HIV) or medications they must take to treat a health condition (e.g., for organ transplantation), as well as household members and those in close contact with individuals who are immunocompromised
• Anyone age 6 months and older who wants to be vaccinated against COVID-19

Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

COVID-19 vaccines are safe for most people, with few exceptions:

• Current vaccines are not authorized for children younger than age 6 months
• People who have a severe allergic reaction after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine or have an allergy to a component in the vaccine should not receive that vaccine type and should consult a healthcare professional with expertise in allergy or immunology

Yes, you should still get vaccinated even if you already had COVID-19. Vaccination helps the body produce more antibodies than natural infection alone.

Current vaccines may better protect against current variants than earlier vaccines or natural infection.

Yes, data show that COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the US are effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death, even with new variants.

Side effects may include a sore arm, pain, swelling or redness at the injection site, fever, fatigue, or other symptoms. These symptoms are normal, should be expected, and are a sign that the body is building immunity. These side effects usually only last a few days.

Over-the-counter medicines, such as aspirin, anti-inflammatories, or acetaminophen, may help relieve fever, pain, or discomfort after getting vaccinated—but should not be used before getting vaccinated. To reduce pain and discomfort in the arm, apply a clean, cool, wet washcloth over the area, and use/exercise your arm gently.

All vaccines used in the US are required to go through extensive safety testing before they are authorized or licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommended for widespread use by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since the start of the pandemic, billions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the US and globally.

All COVID-19 vaccines continue to undergo extensive safety monitoring, including using several reporting systems to ensure the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. Serious side effects from the vaccines are rare and are significantly milder than the diseases they prevent. 

Yes, COVID-19 vaccination is safe for women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant, or might become pregnant to prevent them from getting severely ill with COVID-19. Vaccination during pregnancy also protects infants from severe COVID-19 before they are old enough to be vaccinated.

There has been no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are harmful to either women who are breastfeeding or to their babies.

Multiple studies show that older adults and those with certain medical conditions—including cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, dementia, diabetes (type 1 or type 2), Down syndrome, heart disease, HIV, liver disease, and sickle cell disease—are at higher risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 and should be vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccines remain the best way to prevent hospitalization, long-term health outcomes, and death.

No, COVID-19 vaccines do not interfere with most prescription and over-the-counter drugs. When prescribed, antibiotics may be taken before or after COVID-19 vaccination.

Talk with a healthcare professional if you have specific questions about medication you are taking.

Although vaccination helps protect against severe disease and related complications including hospitalization and death, iy may not be as effective in preventing mild COVID-19 infections.

It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity after vaccination, so it is possible to be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 before or after vaccination.

Since COVID-19 vaccines do not contain live virus, it is not possible to get the disease from the vaccine.