For more than 10 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected your staff in countless ways.
Thankfully, vaccines have been developed to defeat our common enemy. As we all know, COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to millions of people in the United States and an even greater number globally.
Along with the hope these vaccines bring, for some, there is also apprehension. To help you communicate to your staff that the vaccines are safe, HealthPRO Heritage’s Physician Consultant, Dr. James Avery (MD, CMD, FAAHPM, FCCP, FACP), shares the following points to help encourage your staff to receive the vaccine:
- Twenty Years of Studies: Although it seems like the COVID-19 vaccines were produced in record time, the fact is these vaccines are based on mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccine technology, which has been studied for more than two decades and applied in the COVID-19 vaccines.
- mRNA Technology: The use of this technology means that the actual virus itself is NOT used in the vaccine, but rather the mRNA elicits an immune response to specific virus characteristics.
- Completion of Phase 3 Trails: Each of the vaccines has met or exceeded phase 3 trails, which requires at least 30,000 people for testing.
- Mild Side Effects: Data from all trials found that less than 10% of people experienced side effects. Most common was fatigue that went away in 24-48 hours.
- Efficacy: People who receive a COVID-19 vaccine are 20X less likely to become infected with COVID-19 and thus less likely to experience potential hospitalizations related to the virus. The vaccines are proven to be roughly 95% effective compared to the flu vaccine efficacy rate of 50%.
- Mild Symptoms: Similar to the flu vaccine and contracting the flu, those people who received the vaccine and still tested positive for COVID-19 only had mild symptoms, seemingly lessening the impact of the virus.
- Family Planning: The Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines do not have a live virus, therefore, the vaccine is unable to enter the nucleus to alter any DNA in recipients, nor fetuses. In addition, according to the CDC, there is no evidence to suggest there could be an increased risk of infertility.
HealthPRO Heritage continues to put our faith and trust in science. We know that the decision to be vaccinated does not come lightly to some, but we hope that by sharing the above information, you can address any lingering concerns your staff may have as to the safety and efficacy of this vaccine.
For additional information on COVID-19, visit our resources and information page.