What Members Need to Know about Vaccines!

How do COVID-19 vaccines work?

• Vaccines train your immune system to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. With vaccines, you can build immunity to a disease without getting the disease.

How effective are the COVID-19 vaccines?

• All FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines prevent nearly 100% of hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19.

How long do COVID-19 vaccines last?

• Scientists don’t know right now how long COVID-19 vaccines protect people, but they are investigating this in medical studies.

Do I need to get a COVID-19 vaccine if I’ve already had COVID-19?

• Yes. Scientists don’t yet know how long natural antibodies in people who have had COVID- 19 will be protect them from being re-infected.

Will the COVID-19 vaccines prevent me from infecting others?

• COVID-19 vaccines reduce the likelihood that you’ll develop and be able to spread COVID-19. A growing body of evidence shows that the risk of vaccinated people getting and spreading the virus to others is low, but ongoing studies are further analyzing this question.

Do the vaccines work on the new COVID variants?

• Scientists continue to study different forms, or variants, of the virus that causes COVID-19 to see if the vaccines will work against them. Current data suggest that COVID-19 vaccines authorized and recommended for use in the United States offer protection against most variants. For this reason, COVID-19 vaccines are an essential tool to protect people against COVID-19, including illness caused by the new variants. CDC will continue to monitor the impact these new variants may have on how well the vaccines work.