Category: Vaccine Safety

Per the Texas Department of Health and Human Services:

“Safety is a top priority while federal partners work to make COVID-19 vaccines available. The new COVID-19 vaccines have been evaluated in tens of thousands of volunteers during clinical trials. The vaccines are only authorized for use if they are found to be safe.

Even though they found no safety issues during the clinical trials, CDC and other federal partners will continue to monitor the new vaccines. They watch out for serious side effects (or “adverse events”) using vaccine safety monitoring systems, like the new V-safe After Vaccination Health Checker app.

For the most up-to-date information, see the Vaccine Safety section of the CDC website.

To learn about CDC’s new vaccine safety monitoring system, see the V-safe After Vaccination Health Checker section of the CDC website.”

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The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) all agree that:

Pregnant and lactating women who otherwise meet criteria for vaccination should be offered access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

This should be a shared decision among a woman, her care partner(s) and medical provider(s), based on individual risk factors and recognizing a current lack of data about the vaccines’ safety.

ACOG and SMFM recommend that COVID-19 vaccines not be withheld from pregnant women who meet criteria for vaccination. Patients should be counseled as above and a shared decision model used. You can review their recommendations here:

ACOG: Vaccinating Pregnant and Lactating Patients Against COVID-19

• SMFM Statement: SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Pregnancy

Per the CDC:

“No. None of the authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines or COVID-19 vaccines currently in development in the United States contain the live virus that causes COVID-19. This means that a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19.”

While there have been reports of allergic-type reactions in a very small number of patients, the CDC says that people with allergies to certain foods, drugs, insects, latex and other common allergens can still get the COVID-19 vaccine.

If you have had a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to injectables or other vaccines, be sure to discuss the COVID-19 vaccination with your doctor, who can evaluate you and assess your risk. The vaccine provider should observe you for 30 minutes rather than the routine 15 minutes after vaccination, and if you have an allergic reaction to the first shot, you may not receive the second.

The CDC says that at this time, anyone who has a severe allergy (such as anaphylaxis) to any of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccine ingredients should not get this vaccine.