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COVID-19 Vaccine Education

  • Published
  • By Antonio Gonzalez
  • Air Force Surgeon General
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  

Below is an automatically generated transcript of a video produced by the 59th Medial Wing. Please select the appropriate thumbnail above to view the video.

 

I miss just going out with my friends.

I miss going to concerts, eating out with my family, going camping with friends, seeing my family. COVID-19 , has taken something from all of us.

Research has shown more than 75% of Americans need to be vaccinated from Cove in 19 in order for the US to get back to normal. Making decisions regarding your health care is important and even more so during these trying times and the unknown of the global pandemic . It's important to understand all you can about the facts to gain confidence and think about your own personal risk to ensure you are making an informed decision . In certain types of emergencies like the Cove in 19 Pandemic , the FDA can issue an emergency use authorization to provide more timely access to critical medical products like the approved vaccines , when there are no other adequate and approved alternatives available . I was concerned about the lack of information and the expedited process at first , but with my friends and family being vaccinated and them saying they had little to no side effects , my concerns went away . The entire process went faster than usual for explainable reasons , but still followed the usual steps for testing and review the most important reasons for speed . Where that modern scientific tools air faster than old ones and a worldwide effort to reduce or remove the usual barriers and delays in vaccine research , production and distribution . In fact , the approved vaccines have a high efficacy rate of over 94% after the recommended doses are administered . The FDA strongly encourages the inclusion of diverse populations in all phases of clinical development , including populations most affected by C)VID-19 specifically racial and ethnic minorities . Marking a big step towards mitigating disparity issues in vaccine trials . I was hesitant to receive the vaccine , but after talking to my o b g y n , I realized vaccinating was the safest option for myself and my little boy . You might see claims that the Kobe 19 vaccine can make someone infertile , harm a developing fetus in the womb , make the immune system attacked the placenta or hurt a baby who is breastfeeding from a recently vaccinated mother . There is no scientific reason to think any of these are true. Messenger RNA is not the same as DNA , and it can't change our genetic code. In fact, the virus can be more severe and pregnancy while getting the vaccine during pregnancy is low risk . I got the vaccine even after I had COVID, because I would rather have my arm heard and some fatigue for a day and experience the effect of covert again . The CDC recommends vaccination even if you have already had Covid-19. Since you may be able to contract the virus more than once. Every one of my patients who got vaccinated all responded differently. For me, I just had a sore arm. I was a bit more tired than usual, after the vaccine.

You cannot contract COVID-19 from the vaccines as they do not contain the live virus. You may, however, experience one or more side effects. Possible side effects include a sore arm, headache, fever and body aches, which will all resolve in a few days. These are all signs the vaccine is working to build immunity. Millions of people in the United States have already received the vaccine, which has undergone the most intensive safety monitoring in U. S. History.

Those of us in uniforms have taken oath to protect the country against all enemies But this virus isn't just a threat to our country but to the world . It's our duty to do everything possible to protect not just ourselves , but our fellow countrymen . I encourage you to make the best educated decision for yourself and for your family . A choice is yours if you choose to decline . But change your mind later . We're standing by to vaccinate you when you are ready . Our goal is to simply give you the information to make an informed decision . This is our shot to save our loved ones , friends and family . More people that get vaccinated , the safer we are choosing to vaccinate , protects your community , your unit , your mission and , most importantly , your family . What choices will you make to help get back to normal ?