COVID-19 Vaccine Information and FAQs for Patients – UC San Diego Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging time, and we know that you are ready for relief. We have been working hard to keep everyone safe during the coronavirus pandemic. We are finally turning a corner with the news of a COVID-19 vaccine, one of many important tools to help us stop this pandemic.

We know you may have questions about when and how you can be vaccinated. We are currently vaccinating our health care workers. We do not yet have a timeline for beginning vaccinations for patients, and we do not have any kind of waitlist.

We will keep updating this page as we get new information.

What we currently know about COVID-19 vaccines:

What we dont know yet:

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Were not sure yet. But we will follow all government guidelines regarding distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Supplies will be limited initially, and California requires that shots be made available first to those facing the greatest risk. This includes health care workers and first responders who have close, prolonged and repeated contact with patients who have COVID-19.

UC San Diego Health is committed to ensuring an equitable and orderly vaccination scheduling process in line with recommendations from the CDC and the California Department of Public Health. We will expand vaccination to the rest of the health system employees, our patients and communities beyond starting with the most at-risk and vulnerable populations in the coming months.

It will take time to get everyone vaccinated. We understand this may be concerning, especially if you or a loved one is an essential worker or at risk of serious illness. Rest assured we are working hard with state and local officials to make sure everyone in our community has access to the vaccine.

We do not have a patient vaccine waitlist at this time. When vaccines are available for our patients, we will provide more information. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

No. UC San Diego Health is not currently offering the COVID-19 vaccine to the public, and we do not have a waiting list for the vaccine.

As soon as we receive guidance on when and how vaccines will be distributed to the public, we will share that information. We will continue to update this page with the latest information on vaccine distribution.

There are many benefits to getting vaccinated. A COVID-19 shot is your best chance to avoid becoming infected with the virus or possibly to avoid getting seriously ill even if you do get infected. It can also help prevent you from spreading the virus to others around you, including your loved ones and perhaps those more vulnerable or who haven't yet been or cannot be vaccinated.

No vaccine is 100 percent effective. So the more people in our communities who become vaccinated, the less the virus will circulate among us and the better protected we all will be.

So far, more than 295,000 people have died in the United States from COVID-19. Many of them were young and did not have underlying medical conditions. Many people who survived COVID-19 have debilitating breathing, cardiac, kidney and neurological problems, even months after recovering from the immediate infection.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. The first shipment of vaccine we received was the Pfizer vaccine, and we also expect to receive some Moderna vaccine when it is available.

Dozens of companies around the world are working on developing and testing vaccines. That includes AstraZeneca and Janssen, which are engaged in Phase III clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines. (UC San Diego Health has been a testing partner for three of the four leading vaccines in Phase III clinical trials: Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen.)

The Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines all require two injections, roughly 21 to 28 days apart. The Janssen vaccine involves a single shot.

The estimated full effectiveness rate for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines after two shots is 95 percent, based on clinical trial data.

It is not known how the efficacy of the vaccine changes with longer intervals between injections. However, if there is a delay of a couple of weeks between doses, experts think the added time poses no safety or effectiveness issues.

Yes. We will continue wearing masks to keep ourselves and everyone safe, including many who haven't yet been or cannot be vaccinated. In addition, we should continue to follow social distancing, hand hygiene guidelines and all other recommendations and requirements from public health agencies.

Wearing a mask is mandatory at all UC San Diego facilities, from parking lots to testing tents to clinics.

We encourage you to get your flu shot to help prevent unnecessary hospitalizations during the pandemic.

Some people may experience side effects, such as injection site reactions, fatigue, headaches, muscle pain, joint pain and fever. These transient side effects, however unpleasant, should not be alarming. They are a good sign that your bodys immune response system is building future protection.

Please remember:

None of these side effects is unique to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Pfizer says there is a "remote chance"that its vaccine could cause a severe allergic reaction, which would usually occur within a few minutes to one hour after getting a dose of the vaccine. If you have a history of allergic reactions, please inform your vaccination provider before inoculation.

No, none of the current leading vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen) contain the whole SARS-CoV-2 virus. They cannot give you COVID-19. Get more information from the CDC.

Different vaccines use different methodologies, both well-tested and new. By making antibodies, the vaccines increase our bodys immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Then, if we are exposed to the virus in the future, our bodies are already prepared to fight the virus and help prevent us from getting sick.

When enough people in the community have protection to fight off a virus called herd immunity it is unable to spread quickly and cause disease. Based on current knowledge, its estimated that herd immunity to COVID-19 would mean 60 to 70 percent of the population to have antibodies to the disease, either through vaccination or previous infection.

No. Data from the Pfizer and Moderna clinical trials show that protection from COVID-19 appears to begin approximately two weeks after the first injection. But it is strongly recommended that everyone complete the two-dose regimen to fully boost immunity and stronger, longer-lasting protection.

That remains to be seen. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, emerged only late 2019. While much has been learned since then and development of vaccines has occurred with unprecedented speed there is much about the virus that remains a mystery, including how long vaccine protection lasts and how frequently SARS-CoV-2 mutates, necessitating vaccine adaptation. Influenza mutates routinely and often, requiring annual, reformulated vaccines. At this point, the novel coronavirus does not appear to mimic that behavior. Research is ongoing.

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COVID-19 Vaccine Information and FAQs for Patients - UC San Diego Health