COVID-19 Vaccine FAQ: Safety, Side Effects, Efficacy

Paul Offit, MD, vaccine expert, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Gigi Gronvall, MD, immunologist and infectious disease specialist, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

The New York Times: “F.D.A. Advisory Panel Gives Green Light to Pfizer Vaccine,” “Pfizer’s Covid Vaccine and Allergies: How Concerned Should You Be?” “Pfizer’s Covid Vaccine: 11 Things You Need to Know,” “Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker.”  

Gov.uk: “Confirmation of guidance to vaccination centres on managing allergic reactions following COVID-19 vaccination with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.”

YouTube: “COVID-19: Chasing Science to Save Lives,” “COVID-19 Vaccine and Q&A / Vaccine Efficacy.”

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: “Diseases and Conditions.”

CDC.gov: “Frequently Asked Questions about Vaccination,”  “Understanding mRNA Vaccines,” “Use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine: Clinical Considerations,” “V-safe after vaccination health checker.”

NPR: “FDA Analysis Of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Finds It Effective And Safe.”

The Wall Street Journal: “Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccine: Distribution, Side Effects and Everything You Need to Know,” “Moderna and Pfizer are Reinventing Vaccines, Starting with Covid.”

Nature: “COVID-19 vaccines poised for launch, but impact on pandemic unclear.”

FDA.gov: “Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine,” “Development and Licensure of Vaccines to Prevent COVID-19.”

GoodRX.com: “What Are the COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects?”

Science: “Fever, aches from Pfizer, Moderna jabs aren’t dangerous but may be intense for some.”

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center: “What cancer patients (and others) need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine.”

The New England Journal of Medicine: “Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine.”

STAT: “CDC says people with history of severe allergic reactions can get Covid-19 vaccine.”

Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System: “Report an Adverse Event to VAERS.”