COVID-19 vaccination will help limit your chances of getting COVID-19.
All COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. have been shown to be safe and effective at preventing COVID-19.  Experts believe that getting a COVID-19 vaccine also helps keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19. Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, particularly people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

• Learn more about the different COVID-19 vaccines (CDC) >
• Learn more about People at Increased Risk (CDC) >

 
Once you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing more.
After you are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, you may be able to start doing some things that you stopped doing because of the pandemic. People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or two weeks after a single-dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. You should keep using all the tools available to protect yourself and others until you are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccination is a safer way to help build protection.
COVID-19 can have serious, life-threatening complications, and there is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you. If you get sick, you could spread the disease to friends, family and others around you. Clinical trials for all vaccines must first show they are safe and effective before any vaccine can be authorized or approved for use, including COVID-19 vaccines. The known and potential benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine must outweigh the known and potential risks of the vaccine before it is used under what is known as an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Contracting COVID-19 may offer some protection, known as natural immunity. Current evidence suggests that reinfection with the virus that causes COVID-19 is uncommon in the months after initial infection but may increase with time. The risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 far outweighs any benefits of natural immunity. COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you by creating an antibody (immune system) response without having to experience sickness. Both natural immunity and immunity produced by a vaccine are important parts of COVID-19 disease that experts are trying to learn more about, and CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.

• Watch a video explaining an EUA (video by U.S. FDA) >

 
COVID-19 vaccination will be an important tool to help stop the pandemic.
Wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart from others help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others, but these measures are not enough. Vaccines will work with your immune system so it will be ready to fight the virus if you are infected. Evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to be infected without showing symptoms (called an asymptomatic infection) and potentially less likely to spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others. However, further investigation is ongoing. Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available. As experts learn more about how COVID-19 vaccination may help reduce spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, CDC will continue to update its recommendations to protect communities using the latest science. 

Source: CDC

Myth: It was rushed and isn't safe.
Fact: COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
Researchers took no safety shortcuts. While more COVID-19 vaccines are being developed as quickly as possible, routine processes and procedures remain in place to ensure the safety of any vaccine that is authorized or approved for use. Safety is a top priority, and there are many reasons to get vaccinated. Large studies show the vaccine is safe.

Myth: It can give you COVID-19.
Fact: None of the COVID-19 vaccines can make you sick with COVID-19.
None of the COVID-19 vaccines contain the live virus that causes COVID-19 so a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19. 

Myth: It causes severe side effects.
Fact: For most, the vaccine causes mild side effects that resolve in a few days. (View "Possible Side Effects of Vaccine" below.)

Myth: It makes women infertile.
Fact: There is no evidence that the vaccine causes infertility.

Myth: It changes your DNA.
Fact: It's impossible for the vaccine to change your DNA.

Myth: It contains egg protein.
Fact: It doesn't have egg proteins and can be given to people with egg allergies.

Source: Sanford Health

• More Information from CDC >
• Myths vs. Facts Printable Flyer (UofM) >
• Learn more facts about the COVID-19 vaccines (PDF) >

We all play a role in bringing Tigers Back Together! You may find yourself in a position to help dispel myths and misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. When talking to your friends and family, it is important to take steps to avoid being judgmental, to understand the root cause of their concerns, and to get permission to share information with them.

• Learn more about how to talk about COVID-19 with family and friends (CDC) >

Vaccines have been used for centuries to fight off some of the world’s deadliest viruses. While many vaccines have been made with a weakened version of the virus they are intended to protect us from, such as the adenovirus/vector vaccine by Johnson & Johnson (Janssen), mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer) do not contain any copies of the COVID-19 virus. Instead, these vaccines are made with messenger RNA.

Step 1: Get the first dose
In order to be as effective as possible, you will need to take 2 doses of the vaccine.*

Step 2: The vaccine communicates
COVID-19 vaccines do not contain the virus and cannot cause infection or COVID-19. They work by giving your body the recipe to make the protein that is on the outside of the coronavirus. When your body sees that protein, it will make protective antibodies to it. Later, if the body sees the real virus, it will remember seeing that protein and destroy the virus before it has a chance to make you sick.

Step 3: Don't skip your second dose*
The vaccines are very effective only after the second dose. In studies, one vaccine was 95% effective seven days after the second dose. This means you must get the second dose to be protected.

Step 4: Better Protection
Even after you get both doses, continue to be careful. Wash your hands, cover your face, avoid crowds and avoid being around people who are sick.

*number of doses may vary depending on which vaccine you get

COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you from getting COVID-19. You may have some 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. Some people have no side effects.

Vaccine supply and distribution continue to increase. That means more people have been or are in the process of getting vaccinated. Many are wondering what changes after they're fully vaccinated - what should they do and not do?

The COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective, which is good for preventing disease and severe illness. However, it remains unclear if those vaccinated can transmit the disease to those who are not vaccinated. In addition, we are still learning how effective the vaccine is against variants of the virus. It's important to keep up with the preventive measures we have all been practicing during the pandemic. Getting vaccinated doesn’t yet mean a return to pre-pandemic ways.

• Fully Vaccinated: Do's and Don'ts: Learn more about guidance for those who have been fully vaccinated (CDC) >
• Post-vaccine life (video) >

The resources below provide valuable resources about COVID-19 vaccination at the local, state, and national levels.

• Memphis COVID-19 Updates website >
• Shelby County Public Health Directives >
• Tennessee Department of Health >
• Tennessee Community Engaged Alliance Against COVID-19 (TN CEAL) >
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) >

Visit the CDC website to view FAQs >

View FAQs available on tn.gov >