What’s in the COVID 19 vaccine?
Can I get COVID-19 from the COVID-19 vaccines?
No. The vaccines do not contain the live virus that causes COVID-19. This means that you can’t catch COVID-19 from the vaccine.
Do the COVID-19 vaccines have any side effects?
- Serious side effects from vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, are rare.
- It is possible that some people may have 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.
- The most common side effects are minor and include:
- Tiredness
- Headache, chills
- Pain at the injection site
- Muscle and/or joint pain
- Chills
- Nausea and/or vomiting
Why should you get vaccinated? Dr A Fauci
- To reduce your risk of getting COVID-19
- To reduce your chance of ending up in hospital, ICU, ventilator
- To save your life
Vaccines
- no vaccine is 100% effective against preventing COVID-19.
- Getting COVID while fully vaccinated does not give the vaccine a bad name!
- Despite being vaccinated, there is always a small chance that one could still get infected as has happened to me.
- Despite being vaccinated, there is also always a small chance that one can still transmit COVID to someone else – again – as has happened to me.
- However – the real benefit and protection of the vaccine come in preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
Which vaccine should I take?
- Take the first one offered to you.
- Both vaccines do the same thing.
- Pfizer vaccine more protective
- Pfizer – 56 days from the first dose until fully vaccinated
- J&J – 14 days
What about people who have died after taking the vaccine?
- Just because there is a temporal (time) association with the vaccine, does not mean a causal association.
- USA:
- 369 million doses (up till 30th August)
- 7,218 reports of deaths (0,0020%)
- No causal link found
What about people who have died after taking the vaccine?
- Just because there is a temporal (time) association with the vaccine, does not mean a causal association.
- SA:
- 7 million doses (between 17th May and 31st July)
- 53 reported deaths (0,0007%)
- 6 died of COVID
- 5 – insufficient information
- Remaining all coincidental to the vaccine (existing illness before taking the vaccine)
- No link found to the vaccine
What about blood clots?
- Few cases identified after J&J
- More common in women 18-59 years, within 2 weeks of the vaccine
- The risk of clots due to COVID-19 infection is 8 to 10 times higher than the risk of clots from the vaccine
Booster doses
- This does not mean the vaccines are not working
- Protection after vaccination may decrease over time (waning immunity)
- Because of new variants, we may have reduced protection against mild and moderate disease.
- Booster dose will maintain protection
5 reasons to take the Vaccine
- It works – safe and effective
- It protects –
- You – from serious illness, hospitalization, and death
- Your family and loved ones
- You need it – comorbidities
- Obesity, HT, Diabetes
- Herd immunity
- Return to normal
- It’s free
- It’s the right thing to do!