Why should my children and teens get vaccinated against COVID-19?

COVID-19 vaccination is an important tool to help protect everyone 6 months and older from COVID-19 and its complications. Getting children and teens vaccinated against COVID-19 can help keep them from getting really sick if they do get COVID-19.

What is the benefit of the COVID-19 vaccine for children?

COVID-19 vaccination can help protect your child from getting COVID-19. Although fewer children have been sick with COVID-19 compared to adults, children can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, can get sick from COVID-19, and can spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others.

Why should I get vaccinated against COVID-19?

Why should I get vaccinated if I might get COVID-19 anyway? COVID-19 vaccination significantly lowers your risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death if you get infected.

Does vaccination prevent long COVID-19?

In fact, a recent study from the U.K. found that vaccines led to a significantly lower risk of long COVID compared with those who are unvaccinated, but that still close to 10% of the fully vaccinated participants showed symptoms of long COVID three months later.

Should children get the COVID-19 booster?

Getting Children Vaccinated. Should children get a COVID-19 booster? Everyone ages 5 years and older should get a COVID-19 booster, when eligible. Children ages 12 and older who have a weakened immune system should also get a 2nd booster, when eligible.

Who should get a COVID-19 booster?

Everyone ages 5 years and older should get 1 booster after completing their COVID-19 vaccine primary series.

What are the risks to getting a COVID-19 booster?

Adults and children may have some side effects from a COVID-19 vaccine, including pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea. Serious side effects are rare, but may occur.

How long could the COVID-19 virus linger in your body?

But for most infected people, virus levels in the body peak between three and six days after the original infection, and the immune system clears the pathogen within 10 days. The virus shed after this period is generally not infectious.

How many times can I get COVID-19?

'A long-term pattern' According to some infectious disease researchers, Covid-19 reinfections are likely to become more common as time goes on and different variants continue to circulate—with some people potentially seeing third or fourth reinfections within a year.

How long does immunity last after COVID-19 infection?

Early on, researchers thought that natural immunity to COVID-19 only lasted for about 2 to 3 months before fading. As the pandemic continued, experts started finding evidence that natural immunity could last for almost a year after infection. But along came the Omicron variant — and that's changed everything.

Should I get the COVID-19 vaccine if I had COVID-19?

Yes, you should be vaccinated regardless of whether you already had COVID-19.

Is it safe to get the COVID-19 vaccine?

Yes. All currently authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and CDC does not recommend one vaccine over another. The most important decision is to get a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible.

What would a COVID-19 vaccine do?

A vaccine forces your immune system to make antibodies against a specific disease, usually with a dead or weakened form of the germs. Then, if you come into contact with them again, your immune system knows what to do.

Are healthy children 5 to 11 years old eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccine?

The CDC recommends that children should get a booster dose five months after finishing their primary COVID-19 vaccination series of two shots.

Is the COVID-19 vaccine free for children and teenagers in the US?

Yes, COVID-19 vaccines are available for everyone 5 years and older at no cost.

Can COVID-19 vaccines affect the heart of children?

Can COVID vaccines affect the heart? Hansen: For most kids, the vaccine will have no effect on their heart. But health officials are monitoring very rare occurrences of myocarditis and pericarditis after vaccination.

Can I get reinfected with COVID-19?

Studies suggest that reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 with the same virus variant as the initial infection or reinfection with a different variant are both possible; early reinfection within 90 days of the initial infection can occur.

Can you still test positive after recovering from COVID-19?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some people who contract COVID-19 can have detectable virus for up to three months, but that doesn't mean they are contagious. When it comes to testing, however, the PCR tests are more likely to continue picking up the virus following infection.

Can you still get COVID-19 after recovering from it?

Immunity is complicated and, yes, you can still get reinfected with COVID-19. In fact, a recent study found that unvaccinated adults were twice as likely to get reinfected with COVID-19 than those who got vaccinated after they'd recovered from their illness.

Is COVID-19 infectious after 7 days?

Most people with COVID-19 are no longer contagious 5 days after they first have symptoms and have been fever-free for at least three days.

How does the human body shed COVID-19?

Viruses make copies of themselves in human cells and then spread to other people. This is the process of viral shedding. People who are sick with COVID-19 shed the virus from their noses and mouths. While we can't stop viral shedding, we can stop those viruses from infecting other people.

Do COVID-19 booster shots cause worse side effects?

If you experienced side effects when you were vaccinated initially, you may wonder if you'll have any noticeable symptoms in response to your booster shot. While you may have some side effects, they should be no worse than what you experienced originally and may well be milder.

What are some of the common side effects of COVID-19 vaccine?

When you get a sore arm, fever or fatigue after vaccination, those reactions are your body's way of jumping into action to protect you. These "immune effects" include pain where the needle went in, fever, chills, headache, fatigue and body aches. They can last for a few hours up to a few days.

Do COVID-19 boosters use the same ingredients as existing vaccines?

Yes. COVID-19 boosters are the same ingredients (formulation) as the current COVID-19 vaccines. However, in the case of a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster, the dose is half of the amount of the vaccine people get for their primary series.

How long does the protection from Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 booster vaccine last?

The most recent research from the CDC suggests that protection from the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines starts to fade around 4 months after a booster dose.