We are Vaccine Confident.
You can be, too!

The CDC recommends that everyone stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines, including both primary series doses and boosters for your age and risk group. Booster shots are safe and effective and provide an additional dose of a vaccine to “boost” your immunity and give you better protection from disease.

Children ages 6 months to age 4 should receive all primary series doses, and children ages 5 and up should receive all primary doses and the updated, bivalent booster if eligible. Adults aged 18 and older should also receive all primary doses and the updated booster.

For more detailed information about recommended COVID-19 vaccine and booster schedules, including recommendations for those who are immunocompromised, please click here.

1. Phase 1: Small groups of healthy people enrolled in a trial receive the vaccine. During this phase, the vaccine is evaluated for safety, dosage, and side effects.
2. Phase 2: If the first phase meets safety standards, the clinical study is expanded to hundreds of adults who may have health conditions and represent many different backgrounds. In this phase, researchers evaluate safety, side effects, dosage, immune response, and effectiveness.
3. Phase 3: The study is expanded to thousands, from a variety of ages and backgrounds. During this phase, researchers evaluate how the vaccine protects people from the disease compared to a placebo.

Vaccines are one of the most powerful medicines and save millions of lives each year. A vaccine works by activating the defensive system in your body, which we call the immune system. The vaccines promote the production of antibodies, which are small particles that attack bacteria and virus and help to combat a disease. After receiving the vaccine, your body develops an immunity to it, without having to get the disease first.

Typically, this is achieved by using a virus that has been killed or weakened. It won’t make you sick, but it will train your body to fight off the sickness caused by the virus in the future. Some vaccines only contain a part of the virus or bacteria.

Because vaccines prevent diseases, rather than treat or cure them, they are considered the most successful advancements for improving health on a global scale.

For more information on all vaccines, please visit here.  For more information on the COVID-19 vaccines, please visit here.

The COVID-19 vaccine is highly recommended for children, and as preventive medicine physicians, we encourage everyone eligible to receive the vaccine as soon as possible, and stay up to date with boosters. Sound science backs the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in preventing COVID-19 infection and complications.

We realize that many parents have concerns about the length of time it took to secure approval on the vaccine for children, however this timeline is highly indicative of the rigor with which the vaccine was tested – both to ensure its effectiveness and its safety. There were no serious side effects seen among the thousands of children who participated in the vaccine clinical trials.

With these approvals – we wholeheartedly recommend parents have their children in this age group vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccinating children not only keeps them safe from COVID-19 related health complications, but it also helps ensure the safety of those around them.

The “coronavirus”, the virus that causes SARS-COV2, or COVID-19 is not just a singular type of virus. In fact, there are hundreds of known coronaviruses, some of which cause disease. Scientists have been studying the coronavirus family of viruses for more than 50 years, so developers of the COVID-19 vaccines were not starting from scratch. Due to the global pandemic, scientists around the world knew the importance of developing a vaccine quickly. International health organizations worked together to fund, develop, and manufacture COVID-19 vaccines that protect individuals and meet the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) rigorous requirements for safety and effectiveness. 

To assure that the vaccines would be ready quickly, many of the steps were done simultaneously. For example, as the vaccines were used in clinical trials, government and organizations started preparing for their manufacture and distribution, which meant that transitions from one step to the next were done quickly. The vaccines were required to meet the FDA’s rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. 

Omicron is a variant of COVID-19 that, along with its subvariants, has shown to be more transmissible than previous forms of the virus. As with all other variants of COVID-19, our stance remains that prevention remains the best policy. We strongly encourage the public to get vaccinated and stay up to date on boosters.

The original COVID-19 vaccines and boosters have proven to help prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death during Omicron surges. As of September 2022, bivalent boosters from both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are now authorized – offering broader protection against COVID-19, including the Omicron variant and subvariants.

The Pfizer bivalent booster is authorized for those 12 and up, and the Moderna is authorized for ages 18 and up.

Because of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, studies have shown that many children missed their routine measles vaccination, leading to a warning of a possible resurgence. Measles, which is a highly contagious disease that can spread rapidly in schools, can cause serious complications if not treated. Measles was considered eliminated in the US in 2000, due in large part to vaccines.

The best way to protect yourself and your children is to get vaccinated as soon as possible. As part of the 7-vaccine standard series of childhood immunizations, the CDC recommends all children get 2 doses of the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine starting at 12-15 months of age, and then a second dosage by 4-6 years of age. Children can receive the second dose earlier as long it is at least 28 days after the first dose.

Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) is a mechanism used to facilitate the advancement of life-saving measures like vaccines during public health emergencies when diseases are posing serious or life-threatening risks. Because of the alarming rate of hospitalizations and deaths caused by COVID-19, the FDA approved EUA for certain COVID-19 vaccines after they went through rigorous testing and it was determined that the vaccines were safe and effective for use to protect against hospitalization and death related to COVID-19, and that benefits of the vaccines outweighed the potential risks.

After the EUA was approved, manufacturing companies and other entities are still continuing monitor safety and efficacy of the vaccine, which includes following up with the individuals that participated in the clinical trials.

Some people may experience minor side effects from vaccination, including feeling achy, tired or nauseous. However, these side effects should not stop you from receiving routine vaccinations, which can help prevent you from becoming extremely sick with a disease that can otherwise be prevented.

Staying up to date with your routine vaccinations is critical to ensuring we don’t have another public health crisis and the immunity of the country stays strong. A new study found that 26 million doses of CDC-recommended vaccines were missed in 2020 – potentially leaving millions vulnerable to highly contagious, but preventable diseases.

The CDC recently released guidance that the COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines can be administered on the same day: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html#Coadministration

If you are behind on your routine vaccinations, don’t delay and contact your primary care physician today to set up an appointment.

At this time, CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccination for children 12 years and older. Until there are vaccination recommendations for the younger age groups, children between the ages of 2 and 12 should wear a mask in public spaces and around people they don’t live with. In June 2021, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met to discuss the data on reports of mild cases of inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) and surrounding tissue (pericarditis) among vaccinated 16- to 24-year-olds. Myocarditis and pericarditis were found to be extremely rare side effects. The cases were mild, and the children often recovered on their own or with minimal treatment. Cases of myocarditis and pericarditis are much more common with a person develops COVID-19. A peer-reviewed article published in Pediatrics in September 2021 summarizes the clinical course and evaluation of seven cases of acute myocarditis or pericarditis in healthy male adolescents. All patients resolved their symptoms rapidly. Three patients were treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) only and 4 received intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) and corticosteroids. No causal relationship between vaccine administration and myocarditis has been established.

Multiple studies have shown that COVID-19 (both mRNA – Pfizer and Moderna, and viral vector – J&J) vaccines are safe during pregnancy. Vaccination during pregnancy may help protect babies from COVID, as antibodies are passed from mother to baby.  Unvaccinated pregnant women who get COVID are at high risk for pregnancy complications, and they are more likely to become severely ill compared to vaccinated women.

Vaccines are safe, effective and recommended for children. If your child needs any vaccine, or you do not know if they are up-to-date on their recommended vaccinations, call your primary care physician today to schedule an appointment.

Preventive medicine professionals have overwhelmingly voiced they are vaccine confident, to assure others of the safety and importance of vaccines. In fact, nearly 100% of members of the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) report they have received or are planning to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Furthermore, the majority of members would recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to family and friends.

The preventive medicine professional’s voice matters.

• They are specially trained at the intersection of public health and clinical practice.
• They understand the scientific process and rigorous review put in place for the coronavirus vaccines, the same as all vaccines — and trust the process and the science behind it.
• Members of the American College of Preventive Medicine have expressed their confidence in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.

To learn more about preventive medicine and the critical role it plays in saving lives, creating healthier communities and transforming our healthcare system, visit www.acpm.org.