If You Buy a Cow and Unsure if Its Vaccinated Can You Do It Again

Coronavirus vaccine: your questions answered

Updated 17 February 2022

Everything y'all need to know about the vaccine, including its prophylactic, effectiveness and side effects.

What's on this page

Information for people with heart weather condition

• Is the vaccine condom for people with heart conditions?
• Is the vaccine safe for people taking claret thinners similar warfarin and other anticoagulants?
• Is the vaccine safe for people taking claret thinners like clopidogrel and other antiplatelet drugs?
• Is the vaccine safe for people taking eye medications?
• Does the Covid-19 vaccine cause center inflammation (myocarditis)?
• Which heart or circulatory conditions were prioritised for the vaccine and the booster?
• Is the vaccine less effective for people with underlying wellness conditions?
• What is the dosing schedule for people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed?
• Is the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine safety? Does it cause blood clots?

Is it safe, and how effective is it?

• Is the coronavirus vaccine condom?
• How effective is the Pfizer vaccine?
• How effective is the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine?
• How constructive is the Moderna vaccine?
• How effective is the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine?
• How was it adult so quickly?
• Can women who are pregnant or breastfeeding have the vaccine?
• Which vaccine should I get if I am pregnant or breastfeeding?
• Can I take the vaccine if I am planning to get pregnant?
• Tin children have the vaccine?
• I'm allergic to penicillin - can I have the coronavirus vaccine?
• I'm taking the contraceptive pill - is the vaccine safe for me?
• Who can't accept the coronavirus vaccine?

What you need to know about getting the vaccine

• Should I accept the coronavirus vaccine?
• How long does the vaccine last?
• How speedily does the vaccine work?
• Which vaccine will I get?
• Which vaccine is better?
• Can I choose which vaccine I get?
• What if I missed my second dose of the vaccine?
• I've already had Covid-nineteen. Could the vaccine overload my immune system?
• Will I be able to pass on the virus to others if I've had the vaccine?
• Does the vaccine work against the new strains of the virus?
• I've already had Covid-19, do I withal need to get vaccinated?
• Can the vaccine give me coronavirus?
• A relative had a bad reaction to the vaccine. Should I still accept the vaccine?
• Can I bulldoze after having the vaccine?
• Can I drinkable alcohol afterwards having the vaccine?
• How much does the vaccine cost?
• Will I exist forced to get the vaccine?
• Does the pneumococcal vaccine protect me from Covid-19?

What are the side effects?

• What side effects does the Oxford vaccine take?
• What side furnishings does the Pfizer vaccine have?
• What side effects does the Moderna vaccine have?
• What side effects does the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine take?
• Does the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine cause blood clots?
• If I don't get side furnishings is the vaccine working?

Which vaccines accept been approved in the UK, and how do they piece of work?

• Which vaccines are bachelor in the Great britain?
• How does the vaccine work?
• How like shooting fish in a barrel is it to change the vaccine if the virus mutates?
• Can yous mix the vaccines?
• Why are there different vaccines?
• What's in the vaccine?
• Does the vaccine contain creature products?
• Is the vaccine compatible with my religion?

Nosotros're here for you with information and support effectually coronavirus

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Data for people with centre conditions

 

Is the vaccine safe for people with eye weather condition?

Yes, the vaccine is safe for people with heart and circulatory conditions. No vaccine is approved unless information technology is considered condom for people with long-term conditions, including eye and circulatory conditions, and including older people.

As role of the testing, experts looked at whether there are whatsoever differences in how well the vaccines piece of work in people with wellness conditions, and institute that they piece of work just as well. Existent-world studies of how well the vaccine is working have also found that it works equally well in people with long term conditions.

Is the vaccine safe for people taking blood thinners like warfarin or other anticoagulants?

In general, yeah, but you should permit the person giving you the vaccine know that you lot are taking an anticoagulant. As with any injection, there is some risk of bleeding.

Like most vaccines, the coronavirus vaccine is injected into the musculus of your upper arm. Injections into your musculus may bleed a little more injections that are given under the skin, simply less than those that are given into a vein. If y'all are taking a blood thinner such every bit warfarin, or a new anticoagulant, the bleeding may take a little longer to terminate and y'all may become more bruising on your upper arm.

Public Wellness England and the Department of Health have said that you tin can have the vaccine if your anticoagulant handling is stable. That generally means that you will have been taking the same dose for a while and that if you lot are on warfarin, that your INR checks are up to engagement and that your latest INR level was in the right range.

Is the vaccine safety for people taking blood thinners like clopidogrel or other antiplatelet drugs?

Aye, the vaccine is safe for people taking clopidogrel and other antiplatelet medications. You may experience a trivial more bruising around the injection site.

Is the vaccine rubber for people taking heart medications?

Aye, the coronavirus vaccine is safe for people taking heart medications. This includes beta blockers, statins, claret pressure drugs and other heart medications. Your medication won't finish the vaccine from working, and the vaccine won't cause bug with your medication.

In that location is special advice about having the vaccine for people who are taking warfarin or other anticoagulants (come across above).

Which heart or circulatory conditions were prioritised for the vaccine and the booster?

People with the following heart and circulatory conditions were prioritised for the vaccine and are eligible for a booster dose:

• atrial fibrillation
• coronary heart disease that means you take regular medication and/or have regular follow-upwards (this includes angina, middle assault and heart bypass, no matter how long ago)
• built middle illness
• dementia
• diabetes (whether type 1 or blazon ii, even if yous don't need to accept medication)
• center failure
• you've had a blood jell in a vein (such every bit deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism)
• peripheral arterial illness
• you've had a stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA).

If yous have high blood pressure (hypertension) yous will only be prioritised for the vaccine if it has caused damage to your heart.

The details of which health atmospheric condition mean you lot go priority for the vaccine are set out in the Green Volume (page 9), which is the guidance for healthcare professionals on coronavirus. If you're in a priority group considering of your health condition, and haven't been offered your vaccine however, don't worry. At this point, older people who are farther up the priority list are still beingness vaccinated. Many people under 65 in the Great britain - more than than seven million - take wellness conditions that brand them eligible for the vaccine. It won't be possible to vaccinate all these people at in one case. In some cases, those who are more severely affected by their condition may exist offered the vaccine earlier others.

Is the vaccine less constructive for people with underlying health conditions?

Experts accept tested how vaccines work in people with most health conditions, including heart conditions, and plant they are only as effective.

The just possible exception to this is people who are taking immunosuppressants or are immunocompromised. We know that people in this group don't tend to have a strong plenty immune response to the Covid-19 vaccine - encounter below more information.

• Observe out more most getting the vaccine if you are immunocompromised or taking immunosuppressants.

What is the dosing schedule for people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed?

The JCVI and UK regime have recommended that everyone over 12 with a severely weakened immune system is offered:

• a primary form of iii doses (given 8 weeks apart)
• followed by a booster jab (given no sooner than 12 weeks from the tertiary dose)

This will be offered to upwardly to 500,000 people in the UK who were severely immunocompromised - including for example if you have had a heart transplant or are on sure types of steroid medication. The NHS will be contacting people who are eligible as soon as possible to accommodate an appointment.

This recommendation followed findings from research carried out by the University of Glasgow, showing that 40% of people who are immunosuppressed or immunocompromised do not mountain a strong enough immune response later on 2 doses of the vaccine.

• Read the official authorities advice for people who are eligible for a third dose
• Get more information almost the planned booster plan

Is the AstraZeneca vaccine safe? Does information technology cause blood clots?

• Read specific information about the safety of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine,including side furnishings, the risk of blood clots, and why under 40'southward are being offered alternative vaccines.

Does the Covid-19 vaccine crusade heart inflammation (myocarditis or pericarditis)?

This can happen in a few rare cases. The medicines regulators in the United kingdom, Europe and Us have said at that place have been a small number of cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining around the heart) post-obit the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. These accept generally affected young men aged 12 to 29, usually inside ii weeks of their 2nd dose. The disease has generally been mild, and those affected have mostly speedily felt better with treatments and rest.

The vaccine is still recommended and the risks of Covid-19 illness are much greater than the risks of the vaccine. It's also of import to remember that Covid-nineteen itself tin cause myocarditis.

If yous experience symptoms such equally breast pain, shortness of breath or feelings of having a fast-beating, fluttering, or pounding heart, you should seek medical help.

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Is it prophylactic, and how effective is information technology?

Is the coronavirus vaccine safe?

Yes, it's very safety.

Vaccines are only approved for utilise after existence thoroughly tested on tens of thousands of people. On tiptop of that, millions of people have now had the vaccines in the UK, the overwhelming majority without serious reactions.

In gild to approve a vaccine, experts at the MHRA await carefully at all the evidence most the vaccine and make sure that information technology meets strict standards of safe, quality and effectiveness. All of the approved vaccines are shown to be safety.

There have been a very small number of reports of allergic reactions to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. For the vast majority of people, there is no need to worry most these reports. People receiving the Pfizer vaccine will be observed by medical staff for xv minutes afterwards - so in the extremely rare event of a reaction, information technology can be treated correct away. Millions of people have at present had the vaccine and the number of serious allergic reactions have been very rare – fewer than ane in 50,000 people in the example of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and fewer than 1 in 100,000 in the case of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

The only people with allergies who should not get the vaccine are those with a history of serious reaction to the vaccine ingredients. You can have the vaccine even if you have a history of anaphylactic daze to other things - just let the person who is giving you the vaccine know beforehand.

How effective is the Pfizer vaccine?

Research suggests that information technology is very effective.This is based both on clinical trials and on the effects of the vaccine in the 'real world' now it is being given widely in the UK.

A study published past the Academy of Oxford in August 2021 found that in recent months when the Delta strain has been dominant its effectiveness afterwards two doses was 88%.

The study found that the Pfizer vaccine is initially more constructive than Oxford/ AstraZeneca, but the protection provided by the vaccine reduced over time, so afterwards iv to v months, both vaccines are similarly effective. Fifty-fifty later on four to five months, protection should even so be significantly college than in people who are unvaccinated. Information technology'southward important to get both doses, as well as whatever booster yous may be offered, so that you have the best protection possible.

The researchers said longer-term studies were needed to establish how long vaccine protection lasts and what this means for the rollout of booster vaccines.

Meanwhile data from the ZOE symptom study, led past King's Higher London and published in August 2021, plant similar results. They plant that initial protection against infection a month later on the 2d dose of the Pfizer vaccine was 88%, while afterwards v to six months this fell to 74%.

The Oxford research also found that vaccinated people who became infected with the Delta variant of Covid subsequently they were vaccinated had the same levels of virus in their bodies equally infected and unvaccinated people. This means that while the vaccine offers proficient protection, it doesn't end you catching Covid-nineteen and if you exercise, won't stop you passing it on to other people. And so regular handwashing and wearing a face up mask in crowded places is still important to protect yourself and others.

We likewise have show that the vaccine is very effective at reducing the hazard of severe illness and death from Covid.

• Read more nearly the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine

How constructive is the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine?

Enquiry suggests that it is very effective. This is based both on clinical trials and on the furnishings of the vaccine now it is being given widely in the United kingdom.

A study published by the Academy of Oxford in August 2021 constitute that in recent months, when the Delta strain has been dominant, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has offered 67% protection after two doses.

Although the level of protection against Covid-19 is initially lower than Pfizer, this research suggests information technology stays more stable, so after four to five months the level of protection should be similar. The study found that the Oxford/AstraZeneca had a small decline in effectiveness over time, only the changes were pocket-sized plenty that it's possible they could be chance findings.

Meanwhile data from the ZOE symptom study from Rex's College London, published in August 2021, institute that the AstraZeneca vaccine gave effectually 77% protection a month after the second dose, falling to 67% after four to five months.

The Oxford researchers also found that people who were infected with the Delta variant of Covid after they were vaccinated had the aforementioned levels of virus in their bodies as unvaccinated people who got infected. This means it's possible to pass the virus to other people, and then regular handwashing and wearing a face up mask in crowded places is still important to protect yourself and others.

• Read specific information about the safety of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, including common side effects, and why nether twoscore's are being offered culling vaccines.

How effective is the Moderna vaccine?

Trials in 27,000 people establish that afterward two doses the Moderna vaccine is 94% effective at preventing Covid-19 symptoms and illness in those aged 16 and over. The short-term effectiveness after the first dose is similar.

We don't nevertheless accept as much 'existent-world' data on the Moderna vaccine'southward use in the United kingdom as other vaccines, because it hasn't been given to people equally widely, but inquiry by the University of Oxford published in Baronial 2021 constitute that a single dose of the Moderna vaccine was at least equally constructive against the Delta variant of coronavirus, now dominant in the Uk, as single doses of other vaccines.

How constructive is the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine?

A trial involving over 44,000 people involving people in the United States, South Africa and Latin American countries institute that a the Janssen vaccine is 85% effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation from Covid-xix, and 67% effective at preventing Covid-19 symptoms and illness. It is a unmarried dose vaccine. A trial testing two doses of the vaccine is ongoing.

How was information technology developed so quickly?

Considering of the global emergency, developing this vaccine has been prioritised by scientists, drug companies and governments, and a huge amount of collaboration has helped this to happen as fast as possible. The vaccines that have been developed accept all been through the same amount of testing and safety processes every bit other vaccines. Any vaccine that is canonical volition still have been rigorously tested on tens of thousands of people.

Before the pandemic even started, scientists had been planning for an outbreak of a new disease and thinking well-nigh how a vaccine could be developed as rapidly as possible. It helped that Covid-19 is caused by a coronavirus (like SARS) and then scientists already knew about how coronaviruses work, including the "spikes" on the surface which can be used to trigger a reaction from the allowed organization. Vaccine engineering has as well improved in recent years.

Some of the processes which are usually involved in scientific research have been speeded up so that the vaccine tin be available more speedily. For example, trial participants were recruited whilst the study was notwithstanding being ready, and then that they were ready to beginning as soon as the research was approved. All the usual phases have been gone through, merely without waiting between them, and once the initial safety trials were finished, some of the later on trials were run at the aforementioned time rather than one subsequently the other. Drug companies also decided to start producing the vaccines on a large scale whilst the trials were all the same happening. That brought them the risk that they would have to destroy them if the vaccine wasn't approved, but means they are ready to exist distributed much more rapidly.

The approval by the MHRA has also been quicker than usual because it was conducting reviews as new evidence became available. The MHRA has besides said its staff have been working "round the clock" to assess the vaccine. There has been a strong commitment from regulators to make sure that the vaccine has been assessed as carefully as possible, in order to prioritise public safety, while likewise working apace.

Can women who are meaning or breastfeeding have the vaccine?

Yes, you can have the Covid vaccine if yous are significant or breastfeeding. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are recommended to have the Covid-19 vaccine, if they haven't already been vaccinated. Equally of 11 October, more than than 65,000 pregnant women in England lonely take received two doses of the vaccine, equally well as thousands of women who had already been fully vaccinated earlier they were pregnant.

While the overall risk from Covid-19 in pregnant women and their babies is low, some women can become very unwell and demand treatment in hospital. Recent data from NHS England shows that nearly i in 5 of the most critically sick Covid-19 patients who need life-saving treatment through specialist eye-lung support (Ecmo) in hospital, are unvaccinated pregnant women. And then it's important to take up the vaccine if you are offered information technology. The Majestic College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has also urged pregnant women to be vaccinated.

A written report in Israel also plant that pregnant women with Covid-nineteen are much more likely to suffer from gestational diabetes. The study, looking at data from 172 women who had Covid-19 in the afterward stages of pregnancy, too showed that mothers are more than probable to experience heavier bleeding during birth, and their babies are more probable to have respiratory complications.

Which vaccine should I get if I am pregnant or breastfeeding?

The JCVI communication is that it is preferable for pregnant women in the Uk to be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, where available. Where oasis't been any specific safety concerns identified with any of the Covid-nineteen vaccines during pregnancy, Pfizer and Moderna have been used more than widely in other countries, so there is more information available.

If yous're unsure near whether to get vaccinated, or which vaccine is best for you, it's a good idea to talk over the risks and benefits of vaccination with your doctor.

Can I take the vaccine if I am planning to go meaning?

Yes, you lot tin can have the Covid-19 vaccine if you lot're trying for a babe or might go significant in future. Covid-xix vaccines won't have whatever effect on your fertility or chances of falling pregnant.

Tin children have the vaccine?

Visit our children and the Covid-nineteen vaccine for the latest updates, from the benefits of the vaccine in children to which historic period groups are being offered information technology.

What about children who are at high risk?

Children over the age of 5 who are at high gamble of becoming seriously ill from coronavirus, or who live with someone who is at extremely high chance because of a suppressed immune system, are recommended to take 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, eight weeks apart.

This includes children with type 1 diabetes and some children with congenital middle disease. It's of import to bear in mind that non all children with congenital eye disease are at loftier hazard.

• See which children with congenital center affliction are considered to exist at loftier take a chance

I'm allergic to penicillin - tin can I take the coronavirus vaccine?

Yep, all of the available vaccines are safe if you lot are allergic to penicillin.

I'm taking the contraceptive pill - is the vaccine safe for me?

Yes, the vaccine is prophylactic if you're taking the pill.

The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health recommends that women taking the pill (whether or mini-pill) have their vaccine when it'southward offered, and don't filibuster information technology to wait for a specific type of vaccine. You don't need to stop using your contraceptive pill or patch before or after the vaccine. The combined pill does carry an increased risk of blood clots, simply these are a unlike kind of blood clots from those seen in the AstraZeneca vaccine. Both Covid-xix and pregnancy can increase your risk of blood clots, much more than than the Covid-19 vaccine.

Who tin't accept the coronavirus vaccine?

You lot should not get the vaccine if you accept previously had a serious allergic reaction to:

• any of the ingredients in the Covid-xix vaccine
• a previous dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

What you need to know near getting the vaccine

Should I have the coronavirus vaccine?

Yes, you should get the vaccine if you are offered information technology. Having the vaccine means yous are much less likely to become sick from Covid-19, which can crusade serious illness and death. At the moment you lot will but be offered information technology if it is considered that you lot will benefit from the vaccine more than the general population. If you accept a heart condition y'all're at increased risk of serious disease if you grab the virus, and so information technology is really of import to have it.

Having the vaccine could besides benefit those around yous. Although it doesn't mean you lot can't spread the virus, information technology may make it less likely. And if more people are vaccinated, that also reduces the potential for the virus to course new variants that might finish a vaccine from working in futurity.

Tell your dr., pharmacist or nurse beforehand if any of these apply you. You may even so exist able to have the vaccine, but in that location may be things they need to check or discuss with you lot first:

• you lot take ever had a astringent allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) later on any other vaccine injection
• you currently have a severe infection with a loftier temperature (over 38°C)
• you have a problem with bleeding or bruising, or if you are taking a blood thinning medicine (anticoagulant) - read more about the vaccine if you are taking anticoagulants
• your allowed organisation does not work properly (immunodeficiency) or you are taking medicines that weaken the immune system (such as loftier-dose corticosteroids, immunosuppressants or cancer medicines).

This vaccine is for everyone and information technology has been tested amongst dissimilar populations all over the world.

Looking for information about what to look at your vaccine appointment? Read our information on getting the Covid vaccine.

How long does the vaccine last?

Nosotros don't yet know exactly how long protection lasts, because the vaccines oasis't been effectually for long enough.

A contempo study from Imperial Higher London suggests that protection from vaccines starts to reduce three months after vaccination. The REACT study, which looked at 100,000 swabs taken between 24 June and 12 July, found that Covid-19 infections are more common in people who had their 2nd dose three to six months ago, compared to people who were vaccinated in the last iii months.

While immunity from the vaccines does start to reduce over time, the study also showed that people who have been double vaccinated are notwithstanding much less likely to catch Covid-19 than those who are unvaccinated. Then even though immunity may reduce, this is from a very high starting bespeak - the Covid-19 vaccines work extremely well and in the first iii months are more effective than many vaccines for other illnesses. Having the vaccine is still one of the about important things you can exercise to protect yourself confronting coronavirus, as well as having a booster dose of the vaccine if you lot are offered it.

A similar study published by the Academy of Oxford in Baronial 2021 found that while two doses of the Pfizer vaccine provided greater protection at offset, its effectiveness reduced faster than that of the Oxford vaccine, and by almost 4 or five months their effectiveness was similar.

Long-term effectiveness of the vaccines, beyond six months, needs to be studied further.

• Get more information about the Covid-19 booster program.

How quickly does the vaccine work?

Generally the protection from the virus starts after 12-fourteen days. This is because your allowed system needs to generate a response, and people'southward immune systems tin can vary.

The Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford vaccines both need to be given in two doses. The second dose will be given iii to 12 weeks subsequently the first (for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine) or 4 to 12 weeks afterwards the start dose (for the Oxford vaccine). Y'all will all the same have a good level of protection after the starting time dose, and then don't worry if you are not invited for the second dose as quickly every bit you might take hoped. The second dose is important to get the best level of protection, and for longer-lasting protection, and then it'south really of import to go back for your 2nd dose.

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Which vaccine will I become?

The Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca are the primary vaccines that are currently bachelor in the UK, then at the moment you are likely to receive i of these. The third approved vaccine, the Moderna vaccine, is at present starting to become available in the UK, initially in Wales, and volition be rolled out more widely in the coming days and weeks. Y'all won't necessarily be told in advance which vaccine you'll get.

• Read more about different coronavirus vaccine trials and the progress with time to come vaccines

Which vaccine is better?

All the currently approved vaccines have been shown to be safe and to work well at preventing disease from the virus. The studies of effectiveness accept measured them in different ways, so it isn't necessarily helpful to compare them. Serious side furnishings are very rare in all of the approved vaccines.

Yous won't be able to choose which vaccine to accept, so it'southward important to take the vaccine you lot are offered.

Whichever vaccine you lot are offered, it will take been through all the safety processes and will accept been carefully reviewed and approved. It volition too have been recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) for people of your age and risk group.

There will be further research to expect at how best to use the different vaccines. At the moment, there isn't any bear witness that whatever one vaccine is better than some other for people with specific weather, such equally heart disease.

Can I choose which vaccine I get?

No. The vaccine is currently only available on the NHS, and yous won't be offered a choice. Taking the vaccine you are offered ways you will be protected sooner, reducing your gamble of serious illness from coronavirus, and making sure people around you are protected sooner also.

What if I missed my second dose of the vaccine?

If you didn't go your 2d AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine when it was due, book your second dose without delay. While a first dose provides proficient short-term protection against getting severely sick from Covid-19, the second dose is important to provide longer-lasting protection. There is no need to repeat your get-go dose, and you will receive the same vaccine you lot had for your first dose.

The recommended fourth dimension betwixt your commencement and 2d dose is 12 weeks. We have express data on how much protection yous get if the gap betwixt two doses is longer than this. Even if it has been much longer than 12 weeks since your outset dose, yous should still get your second dose as soon as y'all can.

I've already had Covid - could the vaccine overload my immune system?

Whether you lot've had Covid once, twice, or not at all, doesn't make any departure to the safety of the vaccine. Yous should yet have the vaccine. Your immune system won't be "overloaded" if information technology has already fought off the virus once before.

Volition I be able to pass on the virus to others if I've had the vaccine?

Yes. The vaccine makes it less likely that you will become infected with Covid-19, just if you practice become infected, you can still pass the virus on to others.

We know from several studies that vaccines are practiced at preventing infection. You can simply laissez passer on the virus if you are infected, so the vaccines are also effective at preventing the virus being transmitted to others. We too know that vaccinated people who get infected tend to take a shorter illness, which reduces the time they are infectious.

A study from the University of Oxford published in August 2021 found that people who became infected with the Delta variant of Covid after having been vaccinated had the same levels of virus in their bodies as unvaccinated people who got infected. This means vaccinated people who get infected can laissez passer the virus to other people. Some other study, published in the Lancet in Oct 2021, found that people who practice catch the Delta variant of Covid-19 despite being vaccinated are just equally likely to then pass it on to people in their household as if they oasis't been vaccinated (in the case of the Alpha variant, which is no longer the principal strain in the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, the vaccine did hateful they were less probable to laissez passer information technology on to others). Whilst this may sound disappointing, being vaccinated means you are less likely to catch Covid-19 in the first place, and much less likely to become seriously sick or need hospital handling.

All of this means that as well equally being vaccinated, information technology'southward still important to exercise regular handwashing, wearing a face mask in crowded places, and taking a PCR examination if you have Covid symptoms, in order to protect yourself and others.

Does the vaccine work against the new strains of the virus?

Each vaccine offers a dissimilar level of protection against the new strains of coronavirus. Get the latest data on new variants and how effective each vaccine is at protecting against them.

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I've already had Covid-19, practise I even so need to go vaccinated?

Yes, it'southward really important to become the vaccine, even if you've already had Covid-19. You may take some level of immunity if you've had the disease, only this varies and may not terminal long. The MHRA has considered the event and decided that getting vaccinated is just as important for those who take already had Covid-19 as it is for those who haven't.

Tin the vaccine requite me coronavirus?

No, you can't get coronavirus from the vaccine. A vaccine would non be approved for use if it could give y'all the disease it is supposed to protect you from.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is not a live vaccine, meaning it does non contain whatever live viruses - nor does the Moderna vaccine. The Oxford vaccine contains a harmless form of a different virus, which has been altered then it cannot cause an illness.

A relative had a bad reaction to the vaccine. Should I still take the vaccine?

The vast majority of reactions to the vaccine (whether Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford/AstraZeneca or Moderna) have been balmy and short-term. If one of your family members has felt unwell afterwards, that doesn't mean that you lot volition experience the same thing. Serious and life-threatening reactions to the vaccine have been extremely rare, merely if in that location has been one in your family unit it's understandable that you would experience concerned. Information technology would be a good idea to talk it through with your health professional person, who may be able to reassure you or offer you a dissimilar vaccine instead. So don't allow this put you off getting the vaccine birthday.

Can I drive subsequently having the vaccine?

You shouldn't drive for 15 minutes after getting the vaccine. This is because in a small-scale minority of cases, people accept fainted afterwards getting the vaccine.

Tin can I drink alcohol after having the vaccine?

Yep, if you desire to, although we'd always recommend that you follow safe drinking limits. The vaccine is not affected past alcohol.

How much does the vaccine toll?

The coronavirus vaccine is complimentary. Say no if yous are asked to pay for the vaccine. Criminals are using the vaccine equally an opportunity to run scams. Y'all won't get the vaccine and volition exist out of pocket.

So far, only national governments have access to the vaccine. It'south being offered on the NHS for free. It isn't available privately then you tin can't pay to get it sooner.

Will I be forced to get the vaccine?

No, the vaccine volition non be compulsory.

Does the pneumococcal vaccine protect me from Covid-19?

No, the pneumococcal vaccine protects you from a unlike illness, not Covid-19. It'south of import to have both vaccines if you are offered them.

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Nosotros're here for you with information and support effectually coronavirus

Our fortnightly Center Matters newsletter includes the latest updates about coronavirus when you accept a center condition, likewise as support for healthy eating, staying active and your emotional wellbeing.

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What are the side effects?

What side effects does the Oxford vaccine take?

• Read specific information nigh common side effects for the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine, including the risk of blood clots.

What side effects does the Pfizer vaccine have?

Like all medicines, vaccines can cause side effects, although many people don't get whatever side furnishings at all. For the Pfizer vaccine (like the other vaccines), the vast majority of side furnishings are balmy and brusque-term. The nigh common are hurting at the injection site, tiredness, headache, musculus pain or chills. Don't worry if your arm starts to injure the next 24-hour interval, this isn't a cause for business organisation and is commonly gone within a day or ii. You can take paracetamol to treat any of these side effects.

Often the side furnishings are only a sign that the vaccine is doing its job: it can happen with many vaccines that some people might experience slightly unwell because their allowed system is responding to the protein, but this is non a Covid-19 illness and the vaccine tin't requite you coronavirus.

What side effects does the Moderna vaccine have?

Similar all medicines, vaccines can cause side effects, although many people don't become any side effects at all. For the Moderna vaccine (like the other vaccines), the vast bulk of side effects are mild and short-term. The most common are pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle hurting, joint pain or chills. Yous can have paracetamol to treat any of these side effects.

Often the side effects are just a sign that the vaccine is doing its task: it can happen with many vaccines that some people might feel slightly unwell because their allowed system is responding to the poly peptide, but this is not a Covid-19 illness and the vaccine can't give you coronavirus.

What side effects does the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine have?

Like all medicines, vaccines tin can cause side effects, although many people don't become whatever side effects at all. For the Janssen vaccine (similar the other vaccines), the vast majority of side furnishings are mild and short-term (no more than a few days). The most common are hurting at the injection site, headache, fatigue, muscle hurting and nausea. Fewer than one in 10 people had a temperature. You can take paracetamol to treat nigh of these side effects.

Ofttimes the side effects are just a sign that the vaccine is doing its job: it tin can happen with many vaccines that some people might feel slightly unwell because their immune system is responding to the poly peptide, but this is non a Covid-19 illness and the vaccine can't give y'all coronavirus.

Does the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine cause blood clots?

In October 2021, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that they had identified a possible link between the Janssen vaccine and rare cases of blood clotting in the veins (venous thromboembolism). The EMA has recommended that this is listed as a rare side upshot of the vaccine.

There have also been a very small number of reports of people developing serious claret clots linked to depression platelet levels (thrombocytopenia) within iv weeks of receiving the Janssen vaccine.

Platelets are involved in blood clotting, and these abnormally depression levels can be a sign that your body's normal clotting mechanisms are not working properly. Some of the dangerous claret clots were an unusual type of blood clot in blood vessels that drain blood from the encephalon called a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). It is possible that an unusual immune reaction triggered by the vaccine could cause this to happen in rare cases and scientists are studying this farther. A direct link betwixt the vaccine and this clotting has non been proven, simply the EMA has now listed this as a very rare possible side effect.

Blood clots are the vaccine are very rare. Millions of people across Europe have now received the Jansen vaccine, the overwhelming majority without serious side effects or reactions. Regulatory authorities, including the MHRA, have emphasised that whatever rare risks of the Janssen vaccine continue to be outweighed by the benefits of preventing Covid-xix for the vast majority of people.

If I don't get side furnishings is the vaccine working?

Yes, the coronavirus vaccine still works and gives you protection fifty-fifty if you don't get side effects.

You may take heard friends or family draw brusk-term side effects such as fever, fatigue or headache, after getting the vaccine. This can exist a natural result of the fact that your allowed system is responding to the vaccine. Simply many people don't get whatever side effects, nevertheless they are still protected against Covid illness. For case, nosotros know that side effects are less common in older people, but that the vaccine still offers good protection against Covid-19 in older people.

Looking for information about what to look at your vaccine appointment? Read our information on getting the Covid vaccine.

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Which vaccines have been approved in the UK, and how do they work?

Which vaccines are available in the Uk?

Iv vaccines take now been approved for use in the Britain by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA).

• The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (as well known as BNT162b2) was approved on ii December 2020.
• The University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (also known every bit ChAdOx1 nCoV-xix or AZD1222) was approved on xxx December 2020.
• The Moderna vaccine (also known as mRNA-1273) was approved on 8 Jan 2021.
• The Janssen vaccine (also known as besides known every bit Johnson & Johnson or Ad26.COV2-S) was approved on 28 May 2021.

• Read more near which other vaccines are in development

How does the vaccine work?

Nigh of the vaccines and potential vaccines are based on the fact that coronaviruses accept order-shaped spikes on their outer coats, which form a corona – Latin for crown – on the virus surface. Studies advise that the immune system is skillful at recognising these if it has encountered them before, and therefore these are a good approach for a vaccine. If a vaccine is able to produce a "spike" inside the body, the allowed system recognises the "spike" and responds to it. That means that if the body encounters the Covid-19 virus in future, the immune organisation volition recognise it and act against the virus so it cannot develop into an illness.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is an mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccine. Messenger RNA gives a body's cells instructions to make specific proteins - in this instance, viral proteins that can be recognised by the immune organization.

This vaccine contains a small part of the genetic code for the SARS-CoV-2 fasten protein. The vaccine delivers the mRNA to the trunk'due south cells, so that they make the protein that appears in the "spike" on the outside of the Covid-nineteen virus.

The vaccine does not contain whatever live virus.

The Oxford vaccine also contains the genetic sequence of this surface fasten protein, and so like the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, when the vaccine enters cells inside the torso, it uses this genetic code to produce the surface fasten protein of the coronavirus.

The divergence is that instead of mRNA, the Oxford vaccine uses a harmless, weakened adenovirus (a unlike virus that likewise has the 'fasten' protein on its surface). It has been genetically inverse so that it is impossible for information technology to crusade an illness.

The Moderna vaccine works in a very similar style to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. It uses mRNA to tell the body'south cells to create the spikes that are on the surface of the coronavirus, so that the immune organisation can respond to them. It does not contain any live virus.

How easy is information technology to modify the vaccine if the virus mutates?

Relatively easy to do, if it's needed. Dissimilar viruses mutate at unlike speeds. Flu changes quite quickly, which is why we need a new vaccine each year. HIV (the virus that causes Aids) mutates extremely chop-chop, which is part of the reason at that place is no vaccine against it. The coronavirus changes more slowly – slower than influenza.

Mutations don't always mean that the vaccine will have to be changed. All the Covid-nineteen vaccines are designed to generate an immune response to the spike protein. The fasten protein is quite big in virus terms, consisting of effectually 1,270 amino acids. The immune system generates many different antibodies to dissimilar parts of the spike. And so fifty-fifty changes in the spike protein don't necessarily stop the vaccine from working.

Once changes in the virus mean that we practice need a different version of the vaccine, RNA-based vaccines such as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have the advantage of existence quick to produce. Experience of the flu vaccine means that scientists have lots of experience of developing new vaccines to keep upward with the new variants.

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Can you mix the vaccines?

Your offset and 2nd dose should be of the same vaccine. Information technology's not intended that y'all become a different vaccine for each dose, except in exceptional circumstances. This might be because the same vaccine is no longer available, or there isn't a record of which vaccine was given for the beginning dose. Public Health England says that because all the available vaccines are based on the spike protein, it is likely the second dose will aid to heave the response to the offset dose, even if it is a dissimilar vaccine.

Dissimilar vaccines will not be mixed in the same dose.

Why are there different vaccines?

Considering of the urgent global demand for the coronavirus vaccine, different groups of scientists take been working on this problem in society to try different avenues and get a solution as quickly as possible. With whatever vaccine development, there tend to be many options that are tried and that don't accomplish the final stages. Because of the scale of the problem of coronavirus and the worldwide demand for a vaccine, it's better if more than one vaccine exists, in order to increment availability, and to offer more than one way to tackle the problem. So information technology's a good matter that in this example at that place seem to be several promising vaccines.

• Read more about dissimilar coronavirus vaccine trials and the progress with hereafter vaccines

What's in the vaccine?

The Pfizer vaccine contains highly purified unmarried-stranded, five'-capped messenger RNA (mRNA) as its active ingredient.

The inactive ingredients are chemicals to make upwards the vaccine solution. They are: ALC-0315 = (4-hydroxybutyl) azanediyl)bis (hexane-six,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate); ALC-0159 = two-[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide; i,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-three-phosphocholine; cholesterol; potassium chloride; potassium dihydrogen phosphate; sodium chloride; disodium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate; sucrose; and water. It contains polyethylene glycol/macrogol (PEG) as part of ALC-0159.

• Read more than nigh how the Pfizer vaccine works

The Oxford vaccine contains a modified harmless grade of a unlike virus every bit its active ingredient. It contains genetically modified cells.

The inactive ingredients are chemicals to make upwardly the vaccine solution. They are: L-Histidine; L-Histidine hydrochloride monohydrate; magnesium chloride hexahydrate; polysorbate 80; ethanol; sucrose; sodium chloride; disodium edetate dihydrate; and h2o.

• Read more about how the Oxford vaccine works

Does the vaccine contain fauna products?

None of the approved vaccines contain any ingredients derived from pigs, cows or other animals.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca uses harmless, weakened form of an adenovirus (a different virus that likewise has the 'spike' protein on its surface). The virus was grown in human embryonic stem cells. These stalk cells weren't taken direct from a homo embryo – they are copies of stem cells which originally engagement from the 1970s. The vaccine itself does not comprise any embryonic cells.

Is the vaccine compatible with my faith?

Yeah. This vaccine is for everyone and information technology has been tested amongst unlike populations all over the world. The British Islamic Medical Clan has considered all varieties of the vaccine and recommends that Muslims have the vaccine. The Muslim Council of U.k. is also recommending the vaccine, and Imams across the U.k. have confirmed that all the varieties of the vaccine are halal.

The British Sikh community has besides supported the vaccine, as accept Hindu leaders.

The Church building of England says that all clinically recommended vaccinations tin be used with a clear censor.

The Catholic church has said that the vaccine, including the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, is adequate and can be morally justified.

More than lxxx Jewish doctors in the United kingdom have signed a letter to ostend that the Pfizer vaccine does not contain any ingredients that are non kosher. The Pfizer, Oxford and Moderna vaccines take all been purchased past the Israeli government. Orthodox Jewish groups including the Orthodox Matrimony and the Rabbinical Quango of America accept also encouraged their customs members to go vaccinated.

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Source: https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/coronavirus-and-your-health/coronavirus-vaccine-your-questions-answered

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