COVID-19 Vaccine Queries Answered On Side Effects, Availability

ATLANTA — A COVID-19 vaccination streaming town hall Tuesday evening presented medical experts who have partnered with a Georgia U.S. congressman’s office to answer pressing questions about about the vaccine as the state set a new record for deaths from the virus.

How soon should you take the second shot after you’ve had the first? How long will the vaccine be effective against the virus? Will there be more public vaccination sites? Can you get the vaccine with no insurance? What are the side effects?

Dr. Colleen Kelley, the Emory doctor who led the investigation for the Moderna vaccine trial, spoke to the question about side effects.

“In the first couple of days, expect a little bit of a sore arm and some redness,” at the site of the shot,” Kelley said. “You may not feel your best, but I can guarantee that you will feel better knowing that you will be protected.”

Dr. Janet Memark, of the Cobb & Douglas Public Health agency, said people taking the Pfizer version should wait no longer than 21 days to take the second shot, while people who received the first Moderna shot should return within 28 days for the follow-up shot.

Memark also offered assurance that the uninsured would be able to get the vaccine. “You are welcome at any of our sites if you don’t have insurance,” she said.

Public health representatives from various counties in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District said that more mass vaccination sites would come online as the vaccine became more readily available.

“As more resources and more vaccine are available, we are intending to open up more sites,” said Lynn Paxton, director of the Fulton County Board of Health. “And we will use our mobile sites eventually.”
Fulton currently has three vaccination sites available and plan to be giving 25,000 shots per week by the end of the month.
Reddy Sudda, with Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services, said her organization is planning for mass distribution on Jan. 15, 23 and 29.
As for the duration of the vaccine’s effectiveness, Kelley said it was too soon to give an exact time frame. But the hope? “Many months,” she said.
Georgia U.S. Rep. David Scott sponsored the town hall and said it was imperative that the vaccine get to the public as quickly and as effectively as possible.
“We’re going to save lives,” he said. “We’ve lost too many.”