What New Yorkers Need to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines

New York City is committed to keeping everyone safe and healthy by ensuring that access to COVID-19 vaccines is fair and equitable. COVID-19 vaccines will likely be available for most

New Yorkers by mid-2021. Some people, such as health care workers, essential workers who cannot separate from others, and older adults and other people at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 can currently get vaccinated. When you get vaccinated, you are helping to protect yourself and your family and friends. You are also helping to make your community safer. We know New Yorkers care about their communities, including health care workers and small business owners.

Do the vaccines work?

• Two COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) have been approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In clinical studies, both vaccines were more than 94% effective at protecting participants from COVID-19.

Are the vaccines safe? • Yes. You cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine.

The vaccine does not contain the virus. It teaches your body’s immune system how to fight the virus, so it can fight the virus if you are exposed to it.

• The COVID-19 vaccines have gone through large clinical studies involving tens of thousands of people of various ages, races and ethnicities. The evidence from those studies was closely reviewed by the FDA and independent organizations. • Researchers have been working on vaccines for coronaviruses for years, so they did not start from scratch.

Are there side effects?

• It is normal to experience side effects after the first or second dose of the vaccine. Common side effects include soreness in the arm where you got the shot, headache, body aches, tiredness and fever.

• If you have any questions or concerns, call 311 or talk to your health care provider.

• Side effects can be unpleasant, but getting vaccinated helps protect you may help protect and other New Yorkers.