COVID-19 Vaccinations

Are COVID-19 vaccines safe?

Yes, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials. The vaccines met the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support approval or authorization of a vaccine.

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Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines since they were authorized for emergency use by FDA. These vaccines have undergone and will continue to undergo the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. This monitoring includes using both established and new safety monitoring systems to make sure that COVID-19 vaccines are safe.

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Is it safe for my child to get a COVID-19 vaccine?

Yes. Studies show that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. Like adults, children may have some side effects after COVID-19 vaccination. These side effects may affect their ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days. Children ages 6 months and older are now eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines have been used under the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. Your child cannot get COVID-19 from any COVID-19 vaccine.

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Why should my child get vaccinated against COVID-19?

COVID-19 can make children and teens very sick and sometimes requires treatment in a hospital. Getting eligible children and teens vaccinated against COVID-19 can help keep them from getting really sick if they do get COVID-19, including protecting them from short and long-term complications and hospitalization. Vaccinating children can also help keep them in school or daycare and safely participating in sports, playdates, and other group activities.

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The benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks. CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone ages 6 months and older, and boosters for everyone 5 years and older, if eligible.

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Use CDC’s COVID-19 Booster Tool to learn if and when your child or teen can get boosters to stay up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.

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If I am pregnant or plan to become pregnant, can I get a COVID-19 vaccine?

Yes, COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to get pregnant now, as well as people who might become pregnant in the future. People with COVID-19 during pregnancy are more likely to deliver a preterm (earlier than 37 weeks) or stillborn infant and may also be more likely to have other pregnancy complications.

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COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy helps:

• Prevent severe illness and death in people who are pregnant

• Protect babies younger than 6 months old from hospitalization caused by COVID-19

 

Learn more about vaccination considerations and the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

 

If you are pregnant and have received a COVID-19 vaccine, we encourage you to enroll in v-safe, CDC’s smartphone-based system that provides personalized health check-ins after vaccination. A v-safe pregnancy registry has been established to gather information on the health of pregnant people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine.

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If I have already had COVID-19 and recovered, do I still need to get vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine?

Yes, you should be vaccinated regardless of whether you already had COVID-19 because:

• Research has not yet shown how long you are protected from getting COVID-19 again after you recover from COVID-19.

• Vaccination helps protect you even if you’ve already had COVID-19.

 

Evidence is emerging that people get better protection by being fully vaccinated compared with having had COVID-19. One study showed that unvaccinated people who already had COVID-19 are more than 2 times as likely than fully vaccinated people to get COVID-19 again.

 

If you were treated for COVID-19 with monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, you should wait 90 days before getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Talk to your doctor if you are unsure what treatments you received or if you have more questions about getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

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Can I get vaccinated against COVID-19 while I am currently sick with COVID-19?

No. People with COVID-19 who have symptoms should wait to be vaccinated until they have recovered from their illness and have met the criteria for discontinuing isolation; those without symptoms should also wait until they meet the criteria before getting vaccinated. This guidance also applies to people who get COVID-19 before getting their second dose of vaccine.

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What are the possible side effects after getting a COVID-19 vaccine?

You may have some side effects, which are normal signs that your body is building protection. These side effects may affect your ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days. Some people have no side effects.

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Common side effects include:

On the arm where you got the shot

• Pain

• Redness

• Swelling

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Throughout the rest of your body:

• Tiredness

• Headache

• Muscle pain

• Chills

• Fever

• Nausea

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Serious side effects that could cause a long-term health problem are extremely unlikely following any vaccination, including COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccine monitoring has historically shown that side effects generally happen within six weeks of receiving a vaccine dose. For this reason, the FDA required each of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines to be studied for at least two months (eight weeks) after the final dose.

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What are the ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines?

Vaccine ingredients vary by manufacturer. None of the vaccines contain eggs, gelatin, latex, or preservatives. All COVID-19 vaccines are free from metals, such as iron, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth alloys. They are also free from manufactured products such as microelectronics, electrodes, carbon nanotubes, and nanowire semiconductors. None of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized or approved in the United States contain any live virus.

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To learn more about the ingredients in authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines, see

• Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Overview and Safety

• Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Overview and Safety

• Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Overview and Safety

• Ingredients Included in COVID-19 Vaccines

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COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheets

• Moderna Fact Sheet

• Pfizer Fact Sheet

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Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention