By Karen L. Kier 
Pharmacist on behalf of the
ONU HealthWise team
FROM ADA ICON - Many news reports are focusing on vaccines and the ONU HealthWise Pharmacy is receiving questions related to vaccine development. Here's a detailed vaccine explanation from Karen Kier, pharmacist and member of the ONU faculty.

To read the first part of this series click here.
In light of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency approval of the COVID-19 vaccine, some members of the public may be concerned about receiving the vaccine. 

This concern can sometimes be described as vaccine hesitancy. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines this as “the delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services.” (www.who.int/immunization) 

In January 2019, the WHO indicated that vaccine hesitancy was one of the top 10 threats to global health and this was before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Associated Press did a survey of Americans in May 2020 and found that only 49% would get a COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine hesitancy can contribute to the continued spread of disease because vaccinations are not being administered. 

As we have seen with the spread of COVID-19, this can result in stretching our health care resources and hospital beds to critical levels. In addition, the spread of COVID-19 has resulted in deaths and long-term health complications and conditions resulting from the viruses attack on the body. 

Vaccines can help protect us from the spread of disease and relieve the pressure on health care professionals and resources.  So why this condition called vaccine hesitancy?

Myths and miconceptions
There are legitimate questions to ask before receiving a vaccine including the COVID vaccine. It is important to know the facts and not rely on misconceptions and miscommunication often found in social media. 

It is important to ask your questions to a healthcare professional such as a pharmacist, physician, or a nurse to get accurate information.

In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a website designed to bust the myths and misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccine.  (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits/fact...?) 

The vaccine will be distributed and available first to various high risk groups including health care workers and long-term care residents. 

Some important information to know that has been poorly represented in social media includes developing COVID from the vaccine, women becoming sterile after the vaccine, and the vaccine causing a change in your genetic makeup. 

The COVID vaccine was designed using genetic material from the actual virus so that researchers could isolate how to create an effective vaccine. They accomplished that in record time and have developed a vaccine that is inactive and will not cause you to get COVID-19 from the vaccine. 

The genetic research was how it was developed.  Once the vaccine is administered, it stimulates your body to produce COVID-19 fighting antibodies if you are exposed to the virus. 

Vaccine does not change your gentic makekup
This does not change your genetic makeup or you genes. This is not a gene-altering vaccine (see CDC myths). The vaccine is an inactive vaccine and does not contain live virus. This is true for most vaccines on the market including the flu shot, the pneumonia vaccine, and the shingles vaccine (Shingrix).

The severity of COVID-19 illness is much worse in women who are pregnant and some babies have been born COVID-19 positive if the mother had the disease. 

Researchers around the world are collecting data on births in COVID-19 positive mothers to determine the impact.  Social media was blasted with bad information from 2 ex-employees of Pfizer who claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine would cause infertility and female sterilization. 

Several excellent sources have debunked this myth and they are worth reading for the facts.  (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/12/10/)  

Some OB/GYN physicians are recommending that women get the vaccine prior to getting pregnant or even while they are pregnant if they are considered high risk.

Another common myth is that once you have had COVID-19 that you no longer need the vaccine. This is not true because the disease antibodies to fight the infection wear off in several months.  Once those antibodies wear off, then you can become infected with COVID-19 again.  The vaccine would help prevent a new infection of COVID-19. 

Another important issue to consider is the side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine. The safety of all vaccines is a good question to ask so that you get the facts.  As with all medications and vaccines, there is usually some minor side effect or reaction. 

Severe reactions are very rare
Severe reactions are very rare and vaccine providers are prepared to handle rare, severe reactions. This is why before any vaccination, a healthcare professional asks numerous screening questions and the COVID-19 vaccine will be no different. 

Part of the FDA’s independent panel called the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is responsible to evaluate not only the effectiveness but the safety data for the vaccine.  

After the committee recommendation, the FDA evaluates the risk and safety of the vaccine prior to approval.  A New England Journal of Medicine study published December 10, 2020 indicated that the vaccine side effects are generally mild with headache, tiredness, and some pain at the injection site being the most commonly reported.  Serious reactions to the vaccine were rare in this study as well.   

It is important to know the facts. 

The better you educate yourself on the vaccine; the more confident you will be on making a decision. 

Read evidence and not myths.  Ask those professionals who have educated themselves on the vaccine.

Call the ONU HealthWise Pharmacy to talk to a professional who has followed the evidence for the vaccine.  We are happy to answer your questions.  Call the pharmacy at 419-772-3784.