Q&A on COVID-19 Vaccines
Two COVID-19 vaccines are now authorized in the U.S. and more are likely to follow. In this story, we answer some common questions about the shots.
For more information about specific vaccines, we’ve created or will be creating individual pages for COVID-19 vaccines that are authorized or likely to be authorized.
The first vaccine that received the Food and Drug Administration’s green light was Pfizer/BioNTech’s two-dose mRNA vaccine, which was authorized via an emergency use authorization, or EUA, on Dec. 11. (For more, please see “A Guide to Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine.”)
Close behind was Moderna’s vaccine, which also uses an mRNA platform and got the same nod on Dec. 18. A day earlier, the FDA advisory committee voted 20-0, with one abstention, that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks for use in people 18 years of age and older. Moderna announced on Nov. 30 that its product had a 94% efficacy in preventing symptomatic disease in its phase 3 trial. (See “A Guide to Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine” for more.)
Vaccine candidates from Johnson & Johnson (also known as Janssen), AstraZeneca and Novavax are in some form of phase 3 testing, while other potential shots are in earlier stages of clinical or preclinical testing.
- When can I get a vaccine, and how is it being distributed?
Access to a vaccine will depend on where you live and whether you’re at high risk of exposure to the coronavirus or of developing a severe case of COVID-19 if infected.
Given the limited early supply, the first COVID-19 vaccines are slated primarily for health care workers and nursing home residents. The federal government is doling out doses to states and other jurisdictions based on population, and letting those local governments decide on the specifics of prioritization within their borders.
Although states have leeway to make alternate decisions, most are sticking to the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which concluded on an interim basis that the first vaccines (phase 1a) should go to the nation’s 21 million health care personnel and
