The NC Department of Health and Human Services has detailed guidelines regarding who should receive the vaccine first https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines. We are currently vaccinating anyone over the age of 16.

There are three vaccines either on the market or close to coming to market. The initial two vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) are two-dose vaccines. This means you will require a booster vaccine three to four weeks (depending on the vaccine you receive) after receiving your initial dose. Cape Fear Valley Health has both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. You will receive a card at your first vaccination that tells you when to return for your second dose.

Cape Fear Valley Health has received both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The Hoke Hospital and Bladen County Hospital locations are offering the Moderna vaccine, while all other locations are administering the Pfizer vaccine.

The two companies that currently have vaccines on the market, Pfizer and Moderna, have conducted clinical trials in which half the participants received the active vaccine, and the other half received a placebo. Each company had between 30-45 thousand participants who have been monitored for at least two months after they received their last vaccine. Both companies report the vaccine to be between 90 to 95% effective. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved both, which means the study underwent a rigorous review of lab and clinical data to ensure safety and effectiveness. As with any vaccine or medication, there is a small chance of an allergic response.

The average vaccine trial may be studied for longer periods of time than the COVID-19 vaccines have been, but they also conduct research on fewer numbers of participants. A normal vaccine, for example, may be tested on 5,000 people over a long period of time. Companies like Pfizer, Moderna and Jansen have been studying much larger groups of people - 30,000 versus 5,000 - to ensure the resulting vaccine is safe. This vaccine has also had significantly more funding in a shorter amount of time which has contributed to the rapid development of the vaccine. The results released show the vaccines we have received are between 90 to 95% effective.

The reasons vaccines normally take longer to develop is lack of funding and the time it typically takes to get through regulatory steps. Due to the impact of COVID-19 across the country and world, governments and private organizations were extraordinary financial support as well as providing a more seamless path through regulatory processes.

Researchers have been studying and working with mRNA vaccines for decades. Interest has grown in these vaccines because they can be developed in a laboratory using readily available materials. This means the process can be standardized and scaled up, making vaccine development faster than traditional methods of making vaccines. mRNA vaccines have been studied before for flu, Zika, rabies, and cytomegalovirus (CMV). As soon as the necessary information about the virus that causes COVID-19 was available, scientists began designing the mRNA instructions for cells to build the unique spike protein into an mRNA vaccine

Yes. Research has shown that the first two vaccines to market are between 90 to 95 percent effective. This statistic is very impressive considering a vaccine only needs to be at least 50% effective to receive approval from the FDA. NOTE: The current flu vaccine is considered beneficial at 60-70% effectiveness.

Extremely! After the first dose, the vaccine provides 80% efficacy. That efficacy will fall to 50% over the next 21 days until you get your second dose. After the second dose, the efficacy jumps to 90% on day 21 and increases to 9% seven days after the second dose.

According to the CDC, there is not enough information available to know how long after vaccination someone is protected or how often people may need boosters. The group of volunteers who received the vaccine as part of the clinical trial will be followed for years; so far, we know their immunity is still there at 5 months.

No, it will not give you COVID-19. The vaccines work by mimicking a spike protein on the COVID-19 virus. When injected with this protein, your immune system builds up a defense against that organism. When your immune system then encounters the COVID-19 virus, it recognizes that protein and responds to destroy the disease-causing organism. You may, however, experience an immune response after receiving the vaccine. This is normal and is a result of your immune system creating antibodies to protect against the COVID-19 virus. It is a good sign that your body is gearing up to fight the virus.

Most people who get the COVID-19 vaccine do not experience serious side effects, particularly after the second dose. All three candidate vaccines reported mild or moderate side effects, mostly pain or soreness at the injection side site, fatigue and aching muscles and joints for a few days and/or a low-grade fever, particularly with the second dose.

Please visit our website, www.capefearvalley.com/covid19 to schedule a COVID19 vaccine appointment.

Yes! Absolutely.

Yes, it is important that you get the same vaccine for both doses. The vaccine that you get the first time determines the schedule that is used for the second dose. You will receive a reminder card with your first dose and the state reporting system, CVMS, will keep track of which dose you got, just in case you don't get your second dose at the second location or if you misplace your immunization card.

Yes! According to the CDC, there is not enough information available to how long after an infection someone is protected from getting COVID-19 again. Therefore, we encourage you to get vaccinated for you even if you had COVID-19.

No. You will not need to be tested or complete a nasal swab to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccine is to be rolled out in phases. Please visit the NC Department of Health and Human Service website, https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines, for updates regarding the prioritization schedule.

No. There is no fee to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Yes. We are still learning a lot about this vaccine and while so much is still unknown, it is safest to continue to wear masks, wash your hands often and wait six feet away from others. Any change in mask policy is unlikely until herd immunity is achieved which requires about 70% of the population to be vaccinated.

There have been a few different variations, or strains, of the COVID-19 virus found in different countries or different parts of the United States, most recently a version called B117 was found in California. There is still much that is not known about COVID-19, but as these strains also contain the spike protein that is in the vaccine, early research shows it should work.

There has not been any evidence to show that food allergies should cause concern when getting the vaccine. But if you are concerned, we recommend talking with your physician before getting the vaccine.

You can safely take the COVID-19 vaccine even if you had a reaction to the flu vaccine; their ingredients are not the same.

The exact cause of GBS in unknown, but researchers have studied vaccines as a possible trigger in these rare cases. It is important to know that a very small number of people have been affected in this way. These vaccines use different technology than some older vaccines that raised that concern; in addition, these new vaccines do not use the same preservative that may have played a role in rare complications from earlier vaccines. If you are worried, we recommend talking with your physician before getting the vaccine.

No, that is not required at this time. Volunteers who participated in the clinical trials will have their immunity checked from time to time; that will help determine future guidance regarding the need for boosters. It is not known at this time whether immunity will last one year, two years, five years, etc.

No, it is safe to take if you have high cholesterol, or any dyslipidemia. In fact, there is no known medical condition (other than allergy to an actual ingredient in the vaccine) that would be a contraindication to taking the vaccine.

The studies have shown the vaccine to be 90-95% effective; that means that some people (5 to 10%) may not mount an immune response like the majority of people do.

Check with your primary care physician and review the ingredients of this vaccine to assure you are safe. Most people who have had anaphylactic reactions to food products or stings can safely be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Autoimmune disease is NOT a contraindication to taking this vaccine. In fact, most experts would argue you might be at more risk for complications from COVID-19, making it more important for you to be vaccinated. If you are worried, we recommend talking with your physician before getting the vaccine.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine includes the following ingredients: mRNA, lipids ((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate), 2 [(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide, 1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3- phosphocholine, and cholesterol), potassium chloride, monobasic potassium phosphate, sodium chloride, dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate, and sucrose.

The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine contains the following ingredients: mRNA, lipids (SM-102, polyethylene glycol [PEG] 2000 dimyristoyl glycerol [DMG], cholesterol, and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine [DSPC]), tromethamine, tromethamine hydrochloride, acetic acid, sodium acetate, and sucrose.