Vaccines are nearly 100% effective at preventing hospitalization and death from COVID-19¹ and early data shows that vaccines may minimize the likelihood that someone with COVID-19 will spread it to others.² 

1. Yale Medicine, "Comparing the COVID-19 Vaccines: How Are They Different?"

2. CDC, "Key Things to Know about COVID-19 Vaccines"

The cost of the actual vaccine is covered by the federal government.

Most insurance plans will cover the full cost of administering the vaccine, so you don’t pay anything out-of-pocket. If you have questions about coverage, please contact your insurance company.

If you don’t have insurance, you do not need to pay out-of-pocket for the vaccine.

• Millions of people have already been safely vaccinated.¹
• Before becoming publicly available, the vaccine was safely tested by people of different ages, races, ethnicities, and different medical conditions to ensure it was safe for most people.¹
• Scientists have been working on the technology used in the new COVID-19 vaccines for decades,² and the vaccines still underwent the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history.³

1. CDC, "Safety of COVID-19 vaccines" 2.American Medical Association, "How a decade of coronavirus research paved way for COVID-19 vaccines"3. CDC, "Key Things to Know about COVID-19 Vaccines"

COVID-19 vaccines help our bodies develop immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 without us having to get the illness.

• The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines. They contain harmless pieces of the virus. This teaches our bodies how to recognize the virus and build certain cells that will remember how to fight the virus if infection occurs in the future.¹
• The Johnson and Johnson vaccine takes a piece of gene from the virus and puts it into another virus that can teach our body to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19 without making us sick. The virus that is in the Johnson and Johnson vaccine doesn’t cause infection and it doesn’t multiply in the body.¹ 

1. CDC, "Understanding How COVID-19 Vaccines Work"

Yes. If you tested positive for COVID-19, you may have some protection against the virus for at least three months after recovering. After those first three months, your chance of getting COVID-19 again increases, especially with new variants circulating. New variants may be too different from your initial infection and your natural immunity may not be able to protect you as well.¹

Getting vaccinated helps boost your immune system to make sure you’re as protected as you can be. ²

1. MN Department of Health, "About COVID-19 Vaccine"

2. CDC, "Understanding How COVID-19 Vaccines Work"

• The risk of getting COVID-19 is lowest if you get both shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.¹
• The CDC confirmed that two doses are better than one via a study that found one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine provided 90% protection two weeks after the second dose.²
• If you miss your second shot reschedule your appointment to receive it ASAP to minimize potential of contracting the virus between doses.³
• Getting the second shot even if it is outside the recommended interval window is better than not getting the second shot at all.¹ 

1. CDC, "COVID-19 Second Dose Completion and Interval Between First and Second Doses Among Vaccinated Persons"

2. Health.com, "What Happens If You Miss Your 2nd COVID-19 Shot? Here’s What to Do – And Why It’s So Important to Get Both Doses"

3. Houston Methodist, "What Happens If I Miss My Second Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine?"

• Common side effects are sore arm, tiredness, headache, muscle or joint pain, nausea, and fever. These tend to go away within 72 hours.¹
• Less than one percent of people may experience serious side effects.²

1. CDC, "Possible Side Effects After Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine"

2. CDC, "Local Reactions, Systemic Reactions, Adverse Events, and Serious Adverse Events: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine"