Answers to your questions about the COVID-19 vaccine

And although things have not yet returned to normal, Dr Jeffrey Martin, head of clinical epidemiology at UCSF, told SFGATE that once again people are getting the vaccine, transmission can and will decrease.

“Anyone who receives a vaccine helps reduce transmission in the community,” he said. And once the transmission really drops, “that’s when we can really feel safe,” he says.

“That day is not far off, in my opinion.”

Below are some common vaccine questions.

Can you sign up for the vaccine waiting lists?

In short, not really.

In most cases, health care providers will notify individuals when they are ready for the vaccine. Sometimes last minute openings for spare vaccines will become available.

Some counties, including Alameda, San Francisco and Marin, offer “interest” forms that will notify individuals when it is their turn to receive the vaccination. (But that’s not quite a waiting list – you’ll still need to contact a healthcare provider to schedule the shot.)

Will we need the COVID-19 vaccine every year?

It remains uncertain, but the odds are good. According to Yale Medicine infectious disease expert Onyema Ogbuagu, we will find the answer to that question in the next six months, as researchers gather more data from the initial COVID-19 vaccine trials held last year.

But according to Johns Hopkins, the fact that individuals can still contract COVID-19 even after receiving the vaccine is a potential indicator of the need to constantly start over.

Can you get infected after receiving the vaccine?

Yes.

“You can definitely get infected again after receiving the vaccine,” Martin told UCSF at SFGATE.

The goal of any vaccination, he explained, is to achieve “sterilizing immunity” – in essence, your body blocks all attempts at infection with the virus – but that is not the case here.

That said, the good news is that even if you are infected, it is almost certain that you will only get a mild form of the virus.

“These are degrees of magnitude,” he said. “It’s much better than if a person got an infection if they hadn’t been vaccinated.”

Can you still pass the virus after you have received the vaccine?

No vaccine is 100% perfect. This means that despite the incredibly high effectiveness rates, there is a very, very small chance that you will develop COVID-19 and be able to pass it on to someone else who is not immune. (This person is therefore much more likely to contract a severe form of the virus.)

“To my knowledge, it has not been documented that anyone has been re-infected and another person infected,” Martin said, “but I have no doubt that will happen.”

For this reason, it is always advisable to wear a mask and social distancing even after receiving the vaccine, at least until we reach a level of herd immunity.

A study by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, which developed a version of the vaccine, found theirs may help reduce the rate of transmission. But these results are specific to this version of the vaccine, which is not available in the United States. And this is still an imperfect result.

How fast does the vaccine work?

“Very soon,” Martin said. “After about ten days or so,” he said, “you’ll start to see some reduction in risk compared to people who didn’t have a vaccine.”

But it will take at least a month for the full vaccine to work at its maximum effectiveness, assuming you get the second dose – more on that later – within that time. A discovery by Yale’s Ogbuagu suggests that the second dose can boost immunity levels by nearly double.

What happens if you only take one of the two doses?

Experts have repeatedly urged not to skip the second dose.

Carlos Malvesutto, Ohio State Physician, said in a report that the first dose prepares the immune system while the second “induces a vigorous immune response and the production of antibodies.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests taking it within three to four weeks. That said, the organization also reports that “there is no maximum interval between the first and second dose for either vaccine.”

Martin emphasizes that this is not “all or nothing”, especially at the start of the vaccine deployment process.

“If they missed their window by three to four weeks and take it right away, they won’t skip it,” he said.

“I think the deep conviction is that you will have a lot more protection than if you hadn’t,” he said. “[and] maybe a little less protection than if you had both. “

What if I have an allergic reaction after taking the first vaccine?

Although rare, there have been reports of individuals having experienced a range of allergic reactions to the vaccine.

In short, you need to do a risk-benefit analysis with an allergist to decide if taking the second dose is worth it.

“A serious reaction should be evaluated by an allergy specialist,” Martin said. “It is not an absolute given that one should or should not [get the vaccine]; it can be a complicated medical decision. “

The good news is that you will still get “very good protection” with just one injection of Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

Are there any differences between single dose vaccines (Johnson & Johnson) and two dose vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer)?

In the grand scheme of things, not really.

Martin says all vaccines approved and being deployed “are actually very similar in performance” in preventing serious disease. “The truth is, they can be indistinguishable to prevent serious illness.”

“One can prevent a mild illness more than the other, but that’s just it,” he added, “a mild illness where you are absent for 3-5 days.