Want to know if the vaccine worked? Here’s one way to find out
COVID-19 vaccines have been available for nearly three months, and 2.1 million Texans are now fully vaccinated.
But there’s still so much scientists don’t know about the virus, how it mutates and how the new vaccines work in the real world.
For this week’s COVID Help Desk, we’re talking about whether the vaccine can affect a mammogram screening; testing the vaccine’s efficacy on your own; and if your employer can share your vaccination status.
How do I know if the COVID-19 vaccine worked on me?
Antibodies have the ability to bind to the virus’ antigens, which blocks it from infecting
us. A person’s antibody level is one of the most direct indicators of a vaccine’s efficacy, said Dr. Pei-Yong Shi, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at UTMB.
The best way to know the protective level of a COVID-19 vaccine is to test for coronavirus antibodies in your immune system at least 14 days after full inoculation, Shi said. Antibodies can be present in a person’s system regardless of whether they exhibited symptoms.
Antibody tests are available at CVS’s Minute Clinic, Kroger’s pharmacy and for-profit laboratories like Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp and CareNow. Last June, the American Red Cross began testing all blood, platelet and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies.
Shi said researchers still don’t know how many antibodies we need for protection. But he imagines the level is “probably very low” based on the barely-detectable amount of antibodies in the system post-vaccination.
Is it true that having a mammogram after a COVID-19 vaccine shot may give a false positive result?
COVID-19 vaccines come with protection, but also side effects like fever, fatigue, headaches or nausea. Another side effect worrying women: swollen lymph nodes that could show up on a mammogram.
Swollen lymph nodes happen to be an uncommon, but possible, symptom in breast cancer, said Dr. Jessica Leung, professor of diagnostic radiology and deputy chair of breast imaging at MD Anderson Cancer Center. When lymph nodes swell, they’re a sign that your immune system is fighting off unwanted antigens. As far as lumps go, though, they’re benign.
“If a patient has had a recent vaccine on the left side of their body, then had bigger lymph nodes in their underarm but the left breast feels fine,” Leung said, “you can be pretty sure it’s a reaction to the vaccine.”
In Moderna clinical trials, approximately 16 percent of patients between the ages of 18 and 64 developed swollen lymph nodes within two to four days after either dose, according to CDC.
In an ideal scenario, Leung recommends scheduling a mammogram before you start the COVID-19 vaccine, or waiting four to six weeks after your second dose.
If you can’t wait, let your radiologist and doctor know about when you received your vaccine, which arm was used and any swelling, so they can interpret the imaging correctly.
Is it a HR violation to talk about your employees’ or coworkers’ vaccination status? Also, can your boss make you get vaccinated?
Yes, your boss can require you to get a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission. But there are a few exceptions.
The exceptions are for employees who have disabilities, have been advised by their doctors that they may have adverse health effects from a shot or who have “sincerely held” religious beliefs against receiving a vaccine, said Mike Muskat, a partner at the Houston employment law firm Muskat, Mahony & Devine.
“What the federal government has said is the employer has an obligation to explore accommodation of the employees’ concerns,” Muskat said.
What employers can’t do is announce who has and hasn’t been immunized, or who’s had the virus. That’s considered confidential medical information, and can only be shared with people who need to know that information, such as a human resources department. Employers should try to quell any workplace discussion or rumors about who is sick.
But they can still alert
their employees about COVID-19 exposure, Muskat said.
“When doing contact tracing, you can provide information about where and when it may have occurred without identifying people,” he said.
Can I choose my vaccine?
While there is currently no widespread picking and choosing of vaccine brands, Harris County Public Health is working on a system to allow patients to choose their vaccine, said Jennifer Kiger, COVID-19 incident commander for Harris County Public Health. But that’s not here yet.
“At end of the day getting a vaccine shot is better than not, we know it’s very effective against hospitalization,” Kiger said.
Efficacy levels vary between vaccines. Moderna and Pfizer are in the 90 percent range, and Johnson & Johnson shows 60-70 percent against moderate-to-severe infections.
But that doesn’t mean one vaccine works better than the other. Each will protect you from severe infection, hospitalization and death, scientists said.
Herd immunity is needed to help stop variants, said Dr. James McDeavitt, senior vice president and dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine. More people vaccinated — by any vaccine — makes it harder for the virus to pass along and mutate.
Houston-area Catholic leaders agree that the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine is “morally compromised” because it was developed by using abortion-derived cells. But if it’s the only option available, Catholics “should still get it.”
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston said it is “permissible to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine when it is the only vaccine available in a given place,” according to a statement. If a person has a choice somehow, the archdiocese said Catholics should choose the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.
Russell Moore, spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Convention, said Baptists should not “shun medical treatments that can save lives because (the treatment) was discovered through means of which we would not necessarily approve.” He added people should not “violate their consciences,” and noted other vaccines are available.