People with underlying medical conditions can receive the FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines provided they have not had an immediate or severe allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine or to any of the ingredients in the vaccine.

Learn more about vaccination considerations for persons with underlying medical conditions. Vaccination is an important consideration for adults of any age with certain underlying medical conditions because they are at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19.

Because the supply of COVID-19 vaccine in the United States is currently limited, CDC is providing recommendations to federal, state, and local governments about who should be vaccinated first. CDC’s recommendations are based on those of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an independent panel of medical and public health experts.

Each state has its own plan for deciding which groups of people will be vaccinated first. You can contact your state health department for more information on its plan for COVID-19 vaccination.

The goal is for everyone to be able to get a COVID-19 vaccination easily as soon as large quantities of vaccine are available. As the vaccine supply increases, more groups will be added to receive vaccination. Learn more aboutCDC recommendations for who should get vaccinated first.

COVID-19 vaccination in Idaho is occurring in phases. COVID-19 vaccine for the general public is expected to be available in spring or summer. Healthcare workers are now getting vaccinated as part of Group 1 as well as Group 2, First Responders, Pre-K-12 School teachers/staff, Childcare/Daycare staff, and Correctional/Detention facility staff. Learn more about who is currenly eligible to get vaccinated, here.

When the vaccine is available to your priority group, it is anticipated that you will be able to get the vaccine through normal vaccination locations such as your employer, local health system, physician’s office, local public health district, or local pharmacy.

• Find more information, HERE

All the COVID-19 vaccines being used have gone through rigorous studies to ensure they are as safe as possible. Systems that allow CDC to watch for safety issues are in place across the entire country.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines that have been shown to meet rigorous safety criteria and be effective as determined by data from the manufacturers and findings from large clinical trials. Watch a video describing the emergency use authorization.

Clinical trials for all vaccines must first show they meet rigorous criteria for safety and effectiveness before any vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccines, can be authorized or approved for use. The known and potential benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine must outweigh the known and potential risks of the vaccine. Learn more about how federal partners are ensuring the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States.

Watch this brief video from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Serious problems from vaccination can happen, but they are rare. CDC has learned of reports that some people have experienced severe allergic reactions—also known as anaphylaxis—after getting a COVID-19 vaccine. As an example, an allergic reaction is considered severe when a person needs to be treated with epinephrine or EpiPen© or if they must go to the hospital. Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and allergies.

These are not new technologies. The vaccines are actually set up to give us immunity that is better than natural infection. We know the side effects of the natural infection. When we compare the risks to those at the frontlines that are being exposed to the virus and those in our community who are at high-risk for severe disease and death, those risks greatly overshadow the unknown risks of the vaccine.

Weigh the risk of contracting or spreading this potentially life-threatening disease to those who are vulnerable against the risks, side effects, safety and effectiveness of the vaccines offered.

Older age and underlying medical conditions including obesity, a compromised immune system, hypertension, COPD, diabetes, and heart disease increase the risk of severe illness from the virus and should be considered as well. You may wish to discuss with your primary care provider.

Vaccines currently in clinical trials in the United States won’t cause you to test positive on viral tests, which are used to see if you have a current infection.

If your body develops an immune response, which is the goal of vaccination, there is a possibility you may test positive on some antibody tests. Antibody tests indicate you had a previous infection and that you may have some level of protection against the virus. Experts are currently looking at how COVID-19 vaccination may affect antibody testing results.

Yes. Data from phase 2/3 clinical trials suggest that Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is safe and likely efficacious in persons with evidence of a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Vaccination should be offered to persons regardless of history of prior symptomatic or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.

At this time, experts do not know how long someone is protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. The immunity someone gains from having an infection, called natural immunity, varies from person to person. Some early evidence suggests natural immunity may not last very long.

There isn’t any evidence from trials of the Pfizer vaccine that it affects fertility. As the vaccine stimulates an immune response to the spike protein, if it did affect fertility we might also expect to see Covid-19 infections affecting this too, as the body should produce a similar immune response if infected. This is not being seen.

The Pfizer vaccine is not recommended for individuals under the age of 16 and the Moderna vaccine is not recommended for individuals under the age of 18.

There are currently no available data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, including Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, in pregnant or lactating people. However, if pregnant or lactating people are part of a group that is recommended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine (e.g., healthcare personnel), they may choose to be vaccinated.

That is not recommended. If you receive the Pfizer vaccine for your first dose, then you need to receive the Pfizer vaccine for your second dose. This is the same for the Moderna vaccine.

People who are pregnant and part of a group recommended to receive the COVID-19 vaccine may choose to be vaccinated. If you have questions about getting vaccinated, talking with a healthcare provider may might help you make an informed decision. While breastfeeding is an important consideration, it is rarely a safety concern with vaccines.

No data are available yet on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in lactating women or on the effects of mRNA vaccines on breastfed infants or on milk production/excretion. mRNA vaccines are not thought to be a risk to breastfeeding infants. People who are breastfeeding and are part of a group recommended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, such as healthcare personnel, may choose to be vaccinated.

To make sure that more information is gathered regarding the safety of these vaccines when administered during pregnancy, pregnant people are encouraged to enroll in v-safe, CDC’s new smartphone-based tool being used to check-in on people’s health after they receive a COVID-19 vaccine. If pregnant people report health events through v-safe after vaccination, someone from CDC may call to check on them and get more information. Additionally, pregnant people enrolled in v-safe will be contacted by CDC and asked to participate in a pregnancy registry that will monitor them through pregnancy and the first 3 months of infancy.

• Learn more about COVID-19 vaccination considerations for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

The federal government oversees a centralized system to order, distribute, and track COVID-19 vaccines. All vaccines are ordered through CDC. Vaccination providers receive vaccines from CDC’s centralized distributor or directly from a vaccine manufacturer. Two vaccines are authorized and recommended to prevent COVID-19 in the United States. Other COVID-19 vaccine candidates are in development, and clinical trials are being conducted at the same time as large-scale manufacturing. The implementation of COVID-19 vaccine distribution involved detailed planning focusing on every step of the process including:

• Establishing and testing logistical plans with manufacturers and commercial partners that are part of CDC’s centralized COVID-19 vaccine delivery system
• Coordinating the distribution of vaccines and needed supplies from centralized locations
• Developing processes for ordering additional doses of the vaccine after the first supply has been shipped
• Receiving, storing, and handling vaccines properly at very specific temperatures
• Deciding who should receive a vaccine first, based on national recommendations, if there are not enough doses of the vaccine for everyone
• Giving the vaccines safely during an ongoing pandemic
• Reporting on vaccine inventory, administration, and safety using a variety of new and enhanced data systems
• Expanding safety surveillance through new systems and additional information sources, as well as scaling up existing safety monitoring systems
• Developing plans to assess vaccine effectiveness, which means how well the vaccines protect against COVID-19 under real-life conditions
• Making sure the public, healthcare providers, state and local health departments and others receive timely, credible, clear communication about all aspects of the vaccination program

Manufacturing very large quantities of vaccine takes time. The goal is for everyone to be able to easily get a COVID-19 vaccine when large quantities are available for distribution.

CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices have published recommendations for which groups should be vaccinated first to help guide decisions about how to distribute limited initial supplies of COVID-19 vaccine.

CDC makes recommendations for who should be offered COVID-19 vaccine first, and each state has its own plan to prioritize, distribute, and allocate vaccine. Learn more about how CDC makes vaccine recommendations. As more vaccines are authorized for use in the United States and the supply of vaccines increases, several thousand vaccination locations will be available, such as doctors’ offices, retail pharmacies, hospitals, and federally qualified health centers. Please contact your state health department for more information on its plan for COVID-19 vaccination.

Yes. Not enough information is currently available to say if or when CDC will stop recommending that people wear masks and avoid close contact with others to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Experts need to understand more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide in real-world conditions before making that decision. Other factors, including how many people get vaccinated and how the virus is spreading in communities, will also affect this decision. We also don’t yet know whether getting a COVID-19 vaccine will prevent you from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 to other people, even if you don’t get sick yourself. CDC will continue to update this page as we learn more.

While experts learn more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide under real-life conditions, it will be important for everyone to continue using all the tools available to help stop this pandemic. To protect yourself and others, follow these recommendations:

• Wear a mask over your nose and mouth
• Stay at least 6 feet away from others
• Avoid crowds
• Avoid poorly ventilated spaces
• Wash your hands often

• What to Know about Continuing to Protect Others after Receiving the COVID-19 Vaccine - DHW
• Learning about the COVID-19 Vaccine - Healthwise
• Learning about the COVID-19 Vaccine - Healthwise (Spanish)
• COVID-19 Vaccine: Care Instructions - Healthwise
• COVID-19 Vaccine: Care Instructions - Healthwise (Spanish)
• Department of Health & Welfare - Idaho FAQs on COVID-19 Vaccine [regularly updated]
• Vaccine Ingredients (flyer)
• Vaccine Safety (FDA) | Video (3 minutes)
• Vaccine Safety (CDC) | Webpage
• Vaccine Information Flyer - English | Spanish
• State of Idaho COVID-19 Vaccine Webpage
• DHW Voice Blog - COVID Q & A: Getting vaccinated
• Finding Credible Vaccine Information - flyer
• COVID-19 Safety & Monitoring - flyer
• Understanding How COVID-19 Vaccines Work - flyer
• Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccine - CDC
• FDA COVID-19 Vaccines - News, Updates, Basic Info

If you are a healthcare provider within Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley Counties that is not enrolled to give vaccine, please call the CDH Call Center to have your practice added to a list for vaccine coordination. 208-321-2222 Open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

IDAHO-SPECIFIC RESOURCES

• State of Idaho Immunization Resources for Providers
• Process to Prioritize Groups - Summary Document
• Idaho COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee
• (CVAC) Vaccine Prioritization (Dec. 9, 2020)
• Idaho COVID-19 Interim Vaccination Plan

FEDERAL/OTHER RESOURCES

• Vaccine and Storage Handling Toolkit - CDC - see COVID-specific information on p. 49
• Communication Toolkit for Vaccine Providers (CDC)
• FDA - COVID-19 Vaccines | Multilingual vaccine fact sheets (Moderna)

• Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC)
• U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
• State of Idaho Vaccine Page
• Saint Alphonsus Health System
• St. Luke's Health System
• Primary Health Medical Group