Trevor James
The COVID-19 vaccine has been a critical tool in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The vaccine works by training the immune system to recognize and fight off the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. While the vaccine does not lower your immune system, it is essential to understand the impact of vaccination on immunity and how it helps protect against severe illness, hospitalization, and death. The recent emergence of new variants has led to updated vaccines that continue to provide protection by training the immune system to recognize these variants. The discussion around vaccine efficacy, safety, and immune response is ongoing, with experts providing recommendations based on age, previous vaccinations, and individual health conditions.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Does the COVID-19 vaccine lower your immune system? | No, the COVID-19 vaccine trains your immune system to fight off COVID-19. |
| Who should get the COVID-19 vaccine? | The CDC recommends everyone ages 65 and older get two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should get at least two doses. |
| How often should you get the COVID-19 vaccine? | The CDC recommends getting two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine six months apart. The minimum time between doses is two months. |
| Are there any side effects to the COVID-19 vaccine? | Some possible side effects include pain, redness, or swelling at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea. These side effects typically go away after a few days. |
| Can you get the COVID-19 vaccine with other vaccines? | Yes, there is no recommended waiting period between getting the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines. |
| What are the benefits of getting the COVID-19 vaccine? | The COVID-19 vaccine helps prevent disease, hospitalization, and death. It also helps protect against new variants of COVID-19. |
| Who benefits the most from the COVID-19 vaccine? | People who benefit the most include older individuals and those with underlying medical conditions such as asthma, COPD, or hematologic malignancy. |
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What You'll Learn
COVID-19 vaccines train your immune system to fight the virus
COVID19 vaccines train your immune system to fight the virus by giving your body a set of instructions to make a harmless piece of the virus for your immune system to recognise. The vaccines use messenger RNA (mRNA) to instruct your body to build the spike proteins found on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Your immune system then kills the harmless piece of the virus and remembers the protein, so your body is ready if you're infected with COVID-19.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, for example, teach your immune system to destroy the coronavirus. These vaccines are very safe and effective, with Pfizer being 95% effective against COVID-19, and Moderna's vaccine being 94.1% effective. The Johnson & Johnson (Jannsen) vaccine has also reported efficacy against the Delta variant, with up to 71% protection against hospitalisation and up to 95% against death.
COVID-19 vaccines are preventive treatments that train your body to recognise and quickly fight a COVID-19 infection. This means that if you are exposed to COVID-19, you might not get sick, or your illness will be less severe than it would have been without the vaccination. People who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines have a lower risk of severe illness, hospitalisation, and death.
Vaccine makers create new versions of the COVID-19 vaccine to target the newest variants of the virus. These updated vaccines train your immune system to recognise new variants and continue to provide protection. While many people refer to these updated vaccines as "boosters", they are not boosters in the traditional sense, but rather vaccines that have been specifically designed to target the most common variant.
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The vaccine lowers the risk of severe illness and hospitalisation
COVID-19 vaccines are designed to train your immune system to recognise and fight off COVID-19 infections. They do not lower your immune system. In fact, they teach your body to build the spike proteins found on the SARS-CoV-2 virus, so your immune system can kill it and remember it for future infections.
The COVID-19 vaccine lowers the risk of severe illness and hospitalisation. Unvaccinated people are more likely to get COVID-19 and are much more likely to be hospitalised or die from the disease. Vaccinated people may still get COVID-19, but their illness is likely to be less severe and they are less likely to need hospital treatment.
Vaccines are especially important for people who are at higher risk of getting severely ill from COVID-19, including older people, pregnant women, and those with underlying medical conditions such as asthma, COPD, or blood cancers. Vaccination can also help prevent disease, hospitalisation, and death in pregnant women and protect babies younger than 6 months old from hospitalisation.
While most children and teens with no underlying conditions experience mild illness from COVID-19, vaccination can still help prevent severe illness, hospitalisation, and long-term complications. Getting vaccinated is also beneficial for those who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, as it can help prevent severe illness and death.
The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, and unexpected long-term safety issues have not been found in any licensed vaccines, even after decades of study.
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Immunocompromised people are eligible for the vaccine
The COVID-19 vaccines teach your immune system to recognise and destroy the coronavirus. They do not lower your immune system. In fact, the CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccination for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, aged 6 months and older. Immunocompromised people are at a higher risk of severe COVID-19 infection and are eligible for the vaccine.
In the US, determining eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccination may be part of the process of making the appointment. While it is unclear whether a simple self-report of a condition will be sufficient to justify vaccination, the CDC has advised vaccinators not to require documentation of health conditions reported by a person requesting vaccination. Instead, they should document what the patient said and take them at their word. This is to ensure that COVID-19 vaccine access is not complicated for people whose conditions are not obvious but nonetheless put them at risk.
In Massachusetts, the Department of Public Health has issued a standing order allowing all Massachusetts pharmacies to dispense and administer COVID-19 vaccines to all eligible people. Similarly, the New Mexico Department of Health is working with the state's Board of Pharmacy to remove potential barriers to access. However, it is important to note that the CDC's clinical guidance is subject to change, which may impact eligibility and access to the vaccine.
While the FDA has approved updated COVID shots for all people aged 65 and older, those below 65 need to have at least one underlying condition identified by the CDC that puts them at increased risk of severe illness. This includes conditions such as pregnancy or recent pregnancy, as well as other underlying medical conditions that make individuals particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.
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The vaccine is safe for pregnant women
There is evidence to suggest that the coronavirus vaccine is safe for pregnant women. Studies including hundreds of thousands of people worldwide show that COVID-19 vaccination before and during pregnancy is safe, effective, and beneficial to both the pregnant woman and the baby. The benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy.
COVID-19 vaccines do not cause COVID-19, including in pregnant women or their babies. None of the COVID-19 vaccines contain a live virus, so they cannot make anyone sick with COVID-19, including pregnant women or their babies. It is safe to receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech), before and during pregnancy. Both vaccines show no increased risk for complications like miscarriage, preterm delivery, stillbirth, or birth defects.
Pregnant women are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 compared to those who are not pregnant. Vaccines are safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 in women who are breastfeeding a baby. Data shows that there have been no severe reactions after vaccination in the breastfeeding mother or the breastfed child. Studies have shown that mothers who are breastfeeding and have received mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have antibodies in their breast milk, which could help protect their babies.
Despite the evidence, the CDC has dropped its guidelines that call for all healthy pregnant women to routinely get vaccinated. This decision has been met with concern by many doctors and public health experts. However, the CDC and FDA's new framework still lists pregnancy as a risk factor for COVID-19.
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The vaccine is effective against new variants
The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalisation, and death. While the vaccines do not offer absolute protection against infection, they significantly reduce the risk of serious health complications from the disease. The Pfizer vaccine, for instance, has been found to be 95% effective, while Moderna's vaccine is 94.1% effective.
The vaccines have been updated for the 2025-2026 season to provide protection against currently circulating variants. These updated vaccines have been approved by the FDA and are already available or making their way to pharmacies and doctors' offices. The updated shots are expected to offer protection lasting up to four to six months.
The Pfizer vaccine has demonstrated effectiveness against multiple variants, including XFG (Stratus) and NB.1.8.1 (Nimbus), according to pre-clinical data. Novavax has also confirmed that its vaccine induces immunity against the JN.1 lineage strains.
While the Johnson & Johnson (Jannsen) vaccine has shown some reduced effectiveness against the Delta variant, it still offers substantial protection. One study reported an efficacy rate of up to 71% against hospitalisation and up to 95% against death.
It is worth noting that the COVID-19 vaccines do not contain the live virus, so there is no way to get COVID-19 from the vaccine. The vaccines teach your immune system to recognise and fight off the coronavirus by instructing your body to build spike proteins found on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the coronavirus vaccine trains your immune system to fight off COVID-19.
The coronavirus vaccine works by giving your body a set of instructions (mRNA) to make a harmless piece of the virus for your immune system to recognize.
The side effects of the coronavirus vaccine can include pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea. These side effects typically go away after a few days.
The effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine depends on the specific vaccine and the variant of COVID-19. For example, the Pfizer vaccine is 95% effective against COVID-19, while the Moderna vaccine is 94.1% effective.
The coronavirus vaccine is recommended for everyone aged 6 months and older. It is especially important for older people, immunocompromised individuals, and pregnant women, as they are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
