Fort Worth Medical School Faculty Answer Questions About COVID-19 Vaccines

FORT WORTH – As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more available to the general public, it’s helpful to stay informed about the vaccination process and the science behind the vaccines.

TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine faculty members JoAnna Leuck, M.D., assistant dean of curriculum and Karim Jamal, M.D., assistant professor, shared some insight behind the science of the vaccines and the vaccination process.

Five Things to Expect When Getting  a COVID-19 Vaccination 

JoAnna Leuck, M.D.

When I go to get a COVID-19 vaccine, will I need to wear a mask and social distance from others? 

JL: Yes, it will be important to continue the practice of wearing a mask, handwashing and social distancing until a large portion of the population is fully vaccinated. The vaccine is most protective against a serious COVID infection, but it is unknown if it prevents the spread of infection from person to person.

Will I receive something from my healthcare provider stating I have been vaccinated? 

JL: You will receive a card that will have the type of vaccine and the date you received each dose. Secure your card and take a picture with your phone or personal camera in case your card is lost or damaged.

Will I be monitored for side effects on site or after I leave my healthcare provider? 

JL: Yes, you will wait for 15 minutes at the site to be observed for any immediate side effects from the vaccine. Immediate reactions have proven to be very rare and are usually related to an allergic reaction. Once you get home, it is normal to have mild symptoms for 24 to 36 hours related to the vaccine. These symptoms may include arm soreness, muscle aches, chills, a low fever, or mild swelling or pain in areas of lymph nodes such as the armpit and neck. These symptoms occur most often on the side of your body where you received the vaccine. The symptoms are evidence of your immune system working and are expected. Everyone reacts differently, and some people have no symptoms at all. If you have symptoms other than those described above, or if they persist for greater than 72 hours, contact your doctor.

For the first time, the CDC has also provided a way for each person who receives the vaccine to report their experience. This will help to quickly identify any issues with the vaccine. You can sign up at https://vsafe.cdc.gov/ and will receive short surveys about the vaccine experience.

Am I still protected from COVID-19 if I get the first vaccination dose, but do not return to get the second dose?  

JL: The first dose may provide some protection, but, according to research thus far, is not as effective as getting both doses.

How long will it take for my body to build protection against COVID-19 after I receive my vaccination doses? 

JL: The full scope of protection occurs seven days after the second dose for most people.

Five things to know about COVID-19 vaccines.

Karim Jamal, M.D.

How much protection will a COVID-19 vaccine give me after the first dose?

KJ: How much more will I be protected after the second dose? For the Pfizer vaccine, the trials show it is roughly 52 percent effective around 12 days after receiving the first shot. But that level of protection rises to 95 percent around two weeks after the second dose.

Can a COVID-19 vaccine make me sick with COVID-19?

KJ: No. The two vaccines that are presently being used in the U.S. are RNA modified (in fact that’s where the name Moderna comes from — modified RNA) and have no potential of causing COVID-19. Other vaccines (measles, mumps, rubella, yellow fever) are developed by using a live attenuated agent and in these circumstances, if given to a person with a suppressed immune system, could cause an active infection (or in the case of a pregnant patient be transmissible to the fetus).

Is cost an obstacle to getting vaccinated against COVID-19?

KJ: No, the federal government has secured and paid for hundreds of millions of doses (at $20/dose) of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. The vaccine is free of charge.

Will there be other COVID-19 vaccines developed in the future?

KJ: There are no present plans for this but there is an exciting silver lining with the novel RNA technology used in our present vaccines. The technology will allow a more precise and expeditious manipulation of the vaccine to fine tune for other variants of COVID-19. This will likely change other vaccines in the future. For example, with the influenza vaccine we may not need to plan months ahead to analyze circulating strains in the Southern Hemisphere and then guess how to constitute our yearly vaccine. The way it is today we’re only half right with influenza A and not at all right with influenza B. As this virus circulates, it’s picking up escape mutations that change the confirmation of the S protein. The variants that are presently of concern (but will no doubt become more numerous) are the B1.17 (UK variant) P1 (Brazilian variant) and B1.351 (South African variant). Studies have shown that antibodies from immunized people fended off the UK variant just fine. However, with the South African strain, the neutralizing power of the antibodies induced by Moderna’s vaccine was reduced six-fold. Presently, Moderna’s scientists are retooling the company’s mRNA sequence to more closely mimic the most significant mutations and plan to test it as an additional booster shot in clinical studies later this year.

After getting vaccinated do I still need to wear a mask and practice social distancing? 

KJ: Absolutely. The vaccine is superb in keeping you from getting sick (in the Pfizer trial of the 15,000 patients that were given the vaccine only 8 became symptomatic with COVID 19 versus 162 patients in the 15,000 subjects that received the placebo). What we don’t know is whether it keeps people from getting infected in the first place and hence remaining infectious to others.