Coronavirus Guide

Welcome to the COVID-19 Vaccine Information Page

This guide is written at a 4th- to 5th-grade reading level.

It will be easy to read for people with low English reading abilities.

It presents scientific ideas in a way that is easy to understand.

Why should I get the vaccine?

• It helps protect you from getting sick with COVID-19.
• It helps protect the people around you from getting sick.
• You can stay safe from lung, heart, and other bad outcomes from getting sick with COVID-19.
• You will be immune longer than if you had COVID-19.
• You will help end the pandemic sooner.

Watch the video below for more on why you should get vaccinated:

How well do the vaccines work?

• The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are 94% to 95% effective.
  • This means 94 or 95 out of 100 people who get the vaccine will not get very sick if they come in contact with the coronavirus.
• A vaccine protects you from being very ill. You might still get COVID-19, but you will have fewer symptoms and get better faster.

Why do I need two shots?

• Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have two doses. This helps your body create a strong immune response to the coronavirus.
• After one dose you are only 50% protected from illness. After two doses you are 95% protected.

Should I get a third shot/booster?

• Yes. Research shows the vaccines begin to lose their protective strength after 6 months.
• Everyone 18 years and older should get a booster dose of either mRNA vaccine 5 months after their 2nd dose of either mRNA vaccine, or after their Janssen/J&J vaccine.
• Teens aged 12-17 should get a booster shot of Pfizer-NBioTech 5 months after their 2nd dose of Pfizer-NBioTech.

What is in the vaccines?

• The vaccines don’t have any coronavirus in them.
• They have mRNA, which stands for messenger RNA.
• The other ingredients are lipids, salts, sugar, acids, and acid stabilizers.
• Lipids help the mRNA stay together and enter your cells.
• The salt and acid ingredients help the vaccine match your own body's acid levels.
• Sugar helps the mRNA keep its shape when the vaccine freezes.
• For more complex information you can read the fact sheets.
  • Pfizer Vaccine Fact Sheet
  • Moderna Vaccine Fact Sheet

How do the vaccines work?

• The part of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine that makes them work is mRNA.
• The messages from mRNA tell your immune system how to work. It teaches your cells to make spike protein. This protein is on the virus that causes COVID-19.
• Your immune cells fight off the spike protein and they remember how to do it.
• If you catch the virus after getting the vaccine your immune system stops it.
• This is what protects you from getting very sick in the future.
• The vaccines are frozen to stop the mRNA from breaking down during travel and storage.

The video below explains how mRNA vaccines work:

How safe are the vaccines?

• Both vaccines are safe and approved by the Food & Drug Administration.
  • Researchers worked very fast to make the vaccines.
  • They completed all the usual tests needed for vaccines.
  • They also gave the vaccines to tens of thousands of people.
  • That is why we are confident they are safe and that they work.
• A very small number of people have bad reactions to vaccines.
  • If you have had an allergic reaction to a vaccine before, speak to your doctor or pharmacist about safety.
  • If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, speak to your doctor before getting the vaccine.
  • Only the bad reactions get reported. This makes it seem like the vaccine is more dangerous than it is. 
  • Thousands of people have had the vaccine without a bad reaction.
  • Getting vaccinated is much less risky than getting COVID-19.
• mRNA vaccines do not change your genes.
  • Your body destroys the mRNA from the vaccine within a few hours.
  • It does not stay in your body and can't change your DNA.

Watch the video below to learn more about vaccine testing:

Does the vaccine have side effects?

• Most vaccines can cause mild side effects.
• For the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, you might have some redness and swelling at the spot they gave you the shot.
  • Your arm might also feel sore a few hours later and last for about a day.
• The second dose of the vaccine might make you feel like you have a cold.
  • This goes away in about a day and you can take over-the-counter medicine to help relieve symptoms.
  • You might experience:
    • Fever
    • Headache
    • Fatigue
    • Muscle pain
    • Joint pain
    • Chills
    • Upset stomach
  • A severe allergic reaction is very rare.
    • An allergic reaction would happen a few minutes to an hour after getting the vaccine.
    • Call 9-1-1 if you experience the following symptoms:
      • Difficulty breathing
      • Swelling of your face and throat
      • A fast heartbeat
      • A bad rash all over your body
      • Dizziness and weakness
  • If you have side effects from the vaccine, you can report them.
    • You can use v-safe, a smartphone app from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
      • The app collects information about side effects and reminds you to take your second dose.
    • You can also report side effects to the FDA/CDC Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
      • Call toll-free 1-800-822-7967
      • Online at https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html
• Getting a headache or fever or feeling tired and achy for a day or 2 is actually a good thing! These are signs that the vaccine is working.

When can I get a vaccine?

• Vaccines are currently being given to all eligible Nevadans.

Where can I get a vaccine?

• Most pharmacies now give vaccines. You can call to make an appointment.
• The Southern Nevada Health District has information for the public on where and how to get a vaccine.

What are the risks?

• Most people who get the J&J vaccine will have only mild side effects.
• Go to a doctor right away if you had the vaccine in the past 3 weeks and have any of these symptoms:

  • severe headache

  • backache

  • new neurologic symptoms

  • severe abdominal pain

  • shortness of breath

  • leg swelling

  • tiny red spots on the skin (petechiae)

  • new or easy bruising

How does it work?

• A virus that does not cause COVID-19 enters your cells
• Information stored in the virus tells your cells to make a very small part of the COVID-19 virus called a spike protein.
• The spike protein is attacked by your immune cells.
• Your immune cells learn and remember how to fight off the virus that causes COVID-19.

How well does it work?

• 66.3% of people who got the vaccine were protected from getting sick with COVID-19 after 2 weeks.

• 100% of those who did get sick did not have to go to the hospital.

• The Janssen/J&J vaccine is less effective than the mRNA vaccines.

J&J Vaccine Pause

On April 13, 2021 the CDC and FDA paused giving J&J vaccines. They allowed their use again starting April 25th, 2021.

• The pause was because 6 people out of 7 million developed blood clots after taking the vaccine.

  • Clots are solid clumps of cells that block blood flow in the body.

  • It is still not known if the vaccine caused the clots.

  • All people who had clots were female and 18 to 48 years old.

  • The reaction happened between 6 and 13 days after getting the J&J vaccine.

• The CDC and FDA determined the benefits of giving the vaccine were much more important than the risk of blood clots.

To read more about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, visit the CDC website here:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/janssen.html