Unfortunately, no. This population will be part of the next cohort group in Phase 1c. No timeline has currently been set for vaccinations to begin for that phase.

No. There’s no substantive difference between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in terms of efficacy for any age group or population.

Hospitals receive its COVID-19 vaccine allocations through the public health infrastructure. Currently we’re only vaccinating Phase 1a participants which include healthcare workers and will be transitioning to Phase 1b for those 65 years and older. As the COVID-19 vaccine distribution evolves and we expand the vaccine eligibility phases, we will update our processes and outreach.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices has published its guidance on special populations, and it supports offering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to individuals age 16 and older, and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to individuals age 18 and older. The only absolute contraindication is for individuals with a known anaphylactic reaction to any of the components in the vaccine, in particular to polyethylene glycol. Click here for full details on this clinical guidance.

While the vaccine prevented individuals in the clinical trials from getting COVID in the 90 days after completing the vaccine series, we don’t know how long this protection will last beyond that time frame. Both Pfizer and Moderna began their clinical trials in late July, so they’ve been able to follow their volunteers for only six months. It’s conceivable that the vaccines can provide long-lasting protection, or effectiveness could fade away in under a year and require a booster shot annually. We need more data and time to understand how long the vaccine will last.

It typically takes at least a week after the second vaccine dose or approximately one month after you start the two-vaccine series. That means it's possible you could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection. So it’s very important that you continue the key safety practices of facemasks, hand hygiene, and social distancing.

We don’t have data on whether receiving the vaccine keeps you from spreading the virus to others. This means that everyone—whether they have received the vaccine or not—will need to continue to wear facemasks, practice physical distancing and good hand hygiene.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are being distributed under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). An FDA committee granted an EUA for the Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 10, and the Moderna vaccine will be reviewed a week later. Our recommendations assume that both EUAs will be granted. In order for an EUA to be granted, the data submitted is rigorously reviewed by teams of FDA scientists. But this data is yet to be published in the peer-reviewed literature.

Both are forms of a new type of vaccine that involves injecting mRNA, which replicates the spike protein on the COVID-19 virus. Once you’re injected with the vaccine, your body begins to manufacture the same spike protein to create antibodies to fight it. If you’ve taken the vaccine and are later exposed to COVID-19, the antibodies created inside your body will keep the virus from entering the cells and causing an infection.

No. The two vaccines with EUA contain the virus mRNA (which is like a recipe) for the spike protein on the virus.

No. While the vaccine doesn’t contain either live or dead virus, you may develop “flu-like” symptoms such as tiredness, fevers or headaches after receiving one or both doses of the vaccine but these usually resolve within three days.