COVID-19 Vaccine

Vaccines go through rigorous evaluation and clinical trials before they are made available to the public. To learn more about what makes a vaccine safe, click here. 

There are several types of vaccines being developed for COVID-19. Vaccines will be available to different locations at different times, and during the early phases of deployment, you will likely be limited in vaccine choice by availability. Baylor Medicine has received both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine at this time.

Information about the three vaccines currently approved for Emergency Use can be found here:

• Pfizer
• Moderna
• Johnson & Johnson

You should not be worried. But, if you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the last three weeks, you should watch for symptoms and if you develop symptoms (severe headache, blurred vision, new onset weakness, chest pain, shortness of breath, leg pain or swelling, unusual bleeding,) please seek medical attention. The current issues with possible blood clots are being evaluated now by the CDC and FDA, and with almost seven million doses of the J&J vaccine administered, the risk of an issue is extremely low. 

The COVID-19 vaccine is administered via an injection, similar to how you receive your flu shot. 

Many of the vaccines being developed require two doses, taken weeks apart. The vaccines available in the United States now require a second dose approximately 21 days (Pfizer) or 28 days (Moderna) after the first dose. If it is not possible to adhere to the recommended interval, it isencouraged that the second dose be administered no later than 42 days after the first dose.

You do not need to start over. If your second shot is delayed, you just need to receive the second shot (of the same vaccine) at some point after it was originally scheduled.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is administered with a single dose. 

Studies of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine showed that protection from COVID-19 begins about two weeks after the first vaccine dose. You are not considered to be fully protected until about one to two weeks after the second vaccine dose. 

The same vaccine studies showed that, on average, persons who had completed the 2-dose regimen were 95% less likely to develop COVID-19, which means there is still a small chance that you could be infected and develop COVID-19. For this reason, we encourage you to continue to use physical distancing, masking, and all precautions while you are around people outside of your home.

There is no current research which shows that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has mutated in a way that would result in the available vaccines not being effective. 

No, the manufacturing process for the currently available vaccines does not include any eggs or other food materials. 

If you are an established patient (seen in the last 36 months) in a Baylor Medicine clinic and are interested in being vaccinated in our Baylor Clinic facility, your provider will need to place a vaccine order for you, and then you will be able to schedule your vaccination. To request a vaccine order, the most efficient process is to send a MyChart message to your doctor’s office. You can also call our vaccine line at (713) 798-8600. Please note that hold times may be long due to the significant demand.

Baylor is scheduling vaccines based on how much allocation we believe we will get from the state. At this time, Baylor College of Medicine has received both of the mRNA Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.  We do not know which vaccine we will have on any given day. BCM does not have the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at this time.

Clinical trials show both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine to be over 90% effective. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is shown to be 72% effective at preventing COVID-19 in the United States, and 85% effective in preventing severe disease. Baylor Medicine supports our patients receiving any of these and does not prefer one over the other. We recommend you take the first vaccine you are offered and receive the same vaccine for your second dose, if needed.

We do not have a waiting list for the COVID-19 vaccine. If you are an established patient (seen in the last 36 months) in a Baylor Medicine clinic, and are interested in being vaccinated, your clinical provider will need to place a vaccine order for you, and then you will be able to schedule your vaccination. To request a vaccine order, the most efficient process is to submit a COVID-19 Vaccine Request Form from the BCM MyChart Homepage. You can also call our vaccine line at (713) 798-8600. Please note that hold times may be long due to significant demand. 

Baylor Medicine is vaccinating as soon as we get vaccine from the State. Because of this, we may have to adjust appointments based on future shipments. You do not need to call us about scheduled appointments. You will receive a MyChart message if changes need to be made to your appointment.

Yes. According to the CDC, you should wear a mask covering the nose and mouth when in contact with others outside your household, even if you have received the vaccination. While the vaccines have a high rate of effectiveness, there is still a risk that you can develop illness: the vaccines are over 90% effective, but not 100%. We also do not know whether people who get the vaccine can still get infected and transmit the virus to others, even if vaccine recipients don’t get sick. Wearing your mask will prevent you from transmitting to others if it turns out that vaccines don’t protect against infection, but rather only protect against severe illness. 

Yes. According to the CDC, you and those around you should wear a mask covering the nose and mouth when in contact with others outside your household, even if you have received the vaccination. While the vaccines have a high rate of effectiveness, there is still a risk that you can develop illness: the vaccines are over 90% effective, but not 100%. We also do not know whether people who get the vaccine can still get infected and transmit the virus to others, even if vaccine recipients don’t get sick. Wearing your mask will prevent you from transmitting to others if it turns out that vaccines don’t protect against infection, but rather only protect against severe illness. 

We will not have an understanding of how often you will need to be vaccinated until we have a vaccine in wide use and can monitor how long it is effective. 

Yes. Some people still get COVID-19 even though they were vaccinated. No vaccines, including the COVID vaccines, are 100% effective. If your body has not had enough time to build up immunity after receiving the vaccination, and you are exposed to COVID-19, there is a chance you could be infected with the virus. It is important to continue to wear a mask and social distance, even after being vaccinated, especially when most of the population is not yet vaccinated. 

While we know the vaccine is safe, if you have personal concerns about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, we encourage you to discuss further with your doctor.

There is no way to know for sure if the vaccines worked, however the studies have shown very high protection from the vaccines (more than 90%). Studies may eventually demonstrate that a blood test can determine if the vaccines worked or not, but those studies are not yet complete. 

If you experience side effects such as low-grade fever, soreness, or chills, you may take Ibuprofen or an Acetaminophen such as Tylenol to treat these symptoms. It is recommended that you should NOT take either of these medications before receiving your vaccine in order to treat anticipated symptoms. You should wait to see if you develop symptoms and then can take one of these over-the-counter medications. 

At this time, antibody testing is not recommended to evaluate the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. Protection from COVID has been associated with receipt of the vaccine and not to a specific immune response. Depending on the type of antibody testing done, the antibody test could target an antibody to a different viral protein (nucleoprotein).

According to the state, pregnant women are included in the Phase 1B distribution. Because pregnant women have not been enrolled in COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, we encourage all pregnant women to talk to their OB Gyn about the COVID-19 vaccines.

Yes, you may take the vaccine. You should wait until you are fully recovered which is defined at a minimum as: no fever for 24 hours, symptoms resolved AND it has been at least 10 days since symptom onset.

According to the CDC, only non-pregnant adults participated in early clinical trials. The Pfizer vaccine is approved for people 16 and older; the Moderna vaccine is approved for people 18 and older.

The vaccines have not been studied widely in persons on immunosuppressive drugs or with immunosuppressing health conditions. The vaccines should be safe in these people, but we don’t know if they will work as well.