As Covid-19 vaccinations become more available, many questions are still on people’s minds. Where can I get the vaccine? Is the vaccine safe? What about those rumors I heard, any truth to that? What is this about there being more than one vaccine?

Here are the answers to some of those questions for our readers.

Where can I get the Covid-19 Vaccine?

Most frequently asked is where can I get the vaccine, and part of the problem with this is that the answer is not just a where, but also a when.

Multiple places are allowing vaccine registration, with many being outside of Freestone County at this time.

Priority is currently on first line workers and those who are more susceptible to Covid-19.

Once registered you are placed on a waiting list to be notified when the vaccine is available to you.

A few locations to consider for a waiting list include:

—brookshirebrothers.com/covid-19 (temporarily suspended registration, but do check back)

—navarrocountyoem.quickbase.com/db/bq6bzxv8q (Do not need to be a resident of Navarro County)

—dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine-hubs.aspx#hublist (list Hubs by County includes two in Smith County and two in McLennan County)

Is the vaccine safe?

Each vaccine has been subjected to numerous testing phases with an increasing number of people receiving the vaccine.

The results have shown that the vaccine is safe for the majority of people, which is not to say that there are zero risk factors.

As with any medication there can always be side effects and allergic reactions. If you are concerned about either you should speak to your doctor to see what they feel is the best option for you.

Overall though, the vaccine has shown to be incredibly reliable with them being up to a 95% effective on the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, and around 66% on the, soon to be released, Johnson and Johnson.

Just as a point of reference, the Influenza Vaccine is around 45% effective and the measles is around 97%.

The two-dose vaccines do not give immunity until after the second dose is received, and even then it is advised to continue practicing social distancing and wearing a mask.

For anyone interested in a more detailed explanation visit youtu.be/eK0C5tFHze8

Truth to Rumors

Many rumors and false information have been circulating since last year when the concept of vaccinations was first introduced.

–Can a Covid-19 vaccine make a person sick with Covid-19? No. The vaccines that are approved and recommended in the United States do not use any form of the live vaccine.

–Once a person has Covid-19, do they still need the vaccine? Yes. Experts are unaware how long a natural immunity last for any person who has contracted the virus, but experts do know that some people were infected twice in less than a year.

–Will being vaccinated cause a person to test positive on a viral test? No. These vaccines do not contain the same items that are tested for, meaning if you test positive, then you caught Covid-19 before the immunity began.

–What about antibody test, can you test positive for one of those? Yes. The idea of the vaccine is to build immunity so you can test positive; more studies are being performed over this topic.

–Will the vaccine protect me from getting sick? Yes. After you have received the two-part vaccine you should become immune to the virus.

–Does the Covid-19 vaccine alter my DNA? No. Absolutely not, mRNA vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA at all.

–Can I get the vaccine if I want to have a baby in the future? Yes. Monitoring will continue of the vaccine, but all research of any vaccine (not just Covid-19 vaccines) does not show any form of fertility problems due to the vaccine.

How many vaccines are there?

Simply put, a lot. More than 200 vaccines are in various stages of development and testing.

Experts feel that the more types there are, the safer the nation and world will be from Covid-19.

Vaccines simply help your body prepare to be infected, and fight off the virus.

Getting a vaccine is like, “sending it to the gym and preparing it to be able to do something when it encounters the real thing in the future,” says Tony Moody, associate professor of pediatrics and immunology at Duke University School of Medicine and a principal investigator at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute. “Essentially, what a vaccine is doing is teaching the immune system how to handle something before you actually encounter the real thing.”

There are five main vaccines that are being watched, even if not all are approved for Emergency Use in the United States.

An article in the New York Times, Good Vaccine News, discusses fives vaccines and what the trial results say, and what they come down to being something as simple as the following:

Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Novavax and Johnson & Johnson have tested over 75,000 people in research trial with zero deaths.

This, in vaccine medical research talk, is really amazing numbers.

Statistically, a similar size group of people with Covid-19 would have seen 150 die from it, and the same size group of people with influenza would have seen between five and fifteen deaths.

The end goal is not about having zero people contracting the virus, but rather, if they do contract it, they stay home and get better. No going to the hospital and no deaths.

In other words, having life go back to normal.