Is the COVID vaccine safe?
COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be safe and very effective to protect against serious illness from this virus. COVID-19 vaccines were made based on technologies that have been studied for over 20 years for use in some cancers and rare diseases like Zika and Ebola. Nearly 18,000 doses have already been administered on the Tohono O’odham Nation. Hereon the Tohono O’odham Nation, vaccination clinics are available at all the Health Centers.
Did you get the vaccine? Why?
Of course I got my COVID-19 vaccine! This pandemic has made many people sick, caused deaths, and disrupted all of our lives. Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect myself and people around me makes sense. Vaccination gives a person’s immune system a chance to gain protection against serious and deadly diseases like measles, human papilloma virus, tetanus, and whooping cough instead of getting the disease and spreading it to others.
How contagious is the delta valiant?
Delta variant is one type of COVID-19 “mutant.” Each time the virus infects someone, it multiplies before it spreads to another person. With each infection, the virus can change or mutate into a variant of the original strain. These strains can behave differently including becoming even more contagious. Delta is 2-4 times more contagious than the original strain and that is why it is spreading like wildfire, including the Tohono O’odham Nation. By getting vaccinated, we put out the fires and can get the pandemic under control. COVID-19 vaccines still are effective against the Delta variant, so it’s important to get vaccinated now.
If you have children 12 & up would you allow them to get the shot? Why should my child get the vaccine?
As pediatrician, I know that vaccinations make sense to protect children and adults from preventable diseases. The current COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. The first studies were conducted in adults and they were authorized in December 2020. Because COVID-19 is a new disease, the FDA and CDC require close study of these vaccines in children before authorizing their use. It is anticipated that COVID-19 vaccines will be available for babies and youth 6 months and older by early 2021. So far, the data from these studies show they will work just as well in babies and children to protect them. My niece got her COVID-19 vaccination while she was pregnant to protect her while she was pregnant and now that her baby is born, she gives her protection through her breast milk.