The mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 are manufactured using technology developed over thirty years. COVID-19 vaccines have been fully tested and evaluated in tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials. The vaccines have met all FDA standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality.

More than 340 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the U.S. and more than 170 million Americans are fully vaccinated. These vaccines have received and continue to receive intensive safety monitoring to make sure that COVID-19 vaccines are safe.

 

The results from vaccine safety monitoring efforts are reassuring. Some people have no side effects. Others have reported common side effects after COVID-19 vaccination, like swelling, redness, and pain at injection site; fever, headache, tiredness, muscle pain, chills, or nausea.

Serious side effects are rare. No more than 5 people in a million experience a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). All vaccination locations are prepared to treat serious allergic reactions.

 

Other serious side effects are rare, as well. The dangers of getting sick with COVID-19 far outweigh the risk of side effects. There have been no deaths attributed to receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. Since the start of the pandemic, nearly 700,000 have died from COVID-19 in the U.S. alone.

Long-term side effects are unlikely. With any vaccine, adverse effects usually show up within six weeks. No long-term side effects have been detected among the millions of people that have received vaccination already. Getting vaccinated is much safer than getting COVID-19.