Question: Should I Get a COVID-19 Vaccination?

Question:

Should I get a flu vaccine AND a COVID-19 vaccine?

 

Answer:

Yes, you should get a flu shot this year—and every year. If you are infected by influenza, you are at a greater risk of getting COVID, and if you get COVID at the same time, the morbidity and mortality are predictably significantly higher. WE HAVE A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE VACCINE FOR INFLUENZA – you and your family should get a flu shot.

 

And yes, you should also get a COVID-19 vaccination. COVID-19 can cause severe medical complications and lead to death in some people. There is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you. If you get COVID-19, you could spread the disease to family, friends, and others around you.

 

Both Pfizer and Moderna report that their vaccines show approximately 95% efficacy at preventing both mild and severe symptoms of COVID-19.

 

A COVID-19 vaccine might prevent you from getting COVID-19. Or, if you get COVID-19, the vaccine might keep you from becoming seriously ill or developing serious complications. It might also help protect people around you from COVID-19, particularly people at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

 

It is important to note that you cannot get COVID-19 from a vaccine. The vaccines contains biological substances to stimulate the immune response, but it does not contain the coronavirus itself so you cannot get or transmit the infection from simply getting the vaccination.

 

It may take some time for everyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccination to get one. But, you should definitely get one when it becomes available.

 

Also, while the vaccine may prevent you from getting sick, it is unknown at this time if you can still carry and transmit the virus to others. Therefore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that we continue the following recommendations to avoid infection from COVID-19 virus: Avoid close contact (six feet), wear cloth face coverings in public places; practice good hygiene, and stay home if you are sick.