How long will the COVID-19 vaccine protect you after administered?

Posted on January 27, 2021

 

OSF Pharmacist Ryan Wolf prepares COVID-19 vaccines. (Photo courtesy McLean County Health Department)

By Blake Haas

BLOOMINGTON – As the Coronavirus vaccine rollout continues worldwide, many researchers are trying to determine long-term side effects and the vaccination’s longevity.

With the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Peter Marks said as the vaccines are produced in record time, questions remain on how long the vaccination would last after administered.

“We just don’t know that yet. We know it’s the matter; it’s months, but we don’t know how many months, and it could be years, we just following people to get that answer. Another thing is, we don’t know whether this particular vaccine interferes and stops the ability to transmit the virus in an asymptomatic state.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced his administration is working to purchase 200 million doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccinations. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 20.5 million Americans have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. Dr. Marks said people need to practice social distancing even after receiving the vaccine.

“That’s why we’re still telling people after you’re vaccinated, you should still wear mask, wash your hands, and you should still stay socially distanced. Until we get to a sufficient number of people vaccinated, until we know the answer of that question of whether that vaccine interrupts the asymptomatic transmission of the virus, we need people to continue to do that.”

Dr. Marks said researchers are still looking into if the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations would protect against various virus strains. However, Dr. Marks said the vaccinations protect people from the highly contagious U.K. variant.

A one-shot vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson is currently in Phase 3 trials. The company reports they could have 100 million COVID-19 vaccines ready by April.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].

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