Common Questions About the COVID Vaccine
Published January 1, 2022
Updated August 22, 2024
Published January 1, 2022
Updated August 22, 2024
The best way to protect yourself against COVID is to get the vaccine. Take a look at these common questions we hear from members and let us know if you still have concerns — or if you'd like to schedule a shot.
Researchers have been studying mRNA vaccines — that’s the idea behind the Pfizer and Moderna shots — for 30 years. So the technology isn’t all that new. It’s just that we’re now using it to fight COVID.
Plus, we have an incredible amount of data — from several large studies and real-world experience — that shows how safe and effective the vaccines are.
It’s very, very rare. In fact, you’re more likely to get struck by lightning than have a bad reaction to your COVID shot. In the U.S. alone, we’ve given hundreds of millions of COVID vaccine doses. We’ve seen only a handful of severe reactions. And those were mainly in people who had a reaction to a shot in the past or knew they had higher odds for problems.
Serious side effects — ones that could cause long-term health problems — are extremely unlikely with COVID vaccines. At this point, millions of people have received shots and we haven’t seen any lasting issues.
The dangers of COVID itself are a much bigger concern than any potential risks of getting the shot.
The goal of the vaccine isn’t to stop you from getting COVID. It’s to make sure you don’t get too sick from it. At this point, most people who end up in the hospital or die from COVID haven’t gotten the shot.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are more than 90% effective in preventing severe illness. Roughly, that means 9 in 10 vaccinated people who get COVID will have only minor symptoms at worst. That’s off-the-charts effective, even compared to other vaccines that have been around much longer. Plus, the vaccine lowers the odds that you’ll spread COVID to others.