COVID-19 Information & Resources

COVID-19 FAQs and Myths

• Does a negative COVID-19 test mean I'm safe?

  If you get a COVID-19 test and the result is negative, that means you probably were not infected at the time your sample was collected. But if you get tested too soon after exposure to the coronavirus, it could be too early for signs of infection to show up on the test. Also, testing negative for the coronavirus now does not mean you cannot become infected in the future or that you are immune from getting COVID-19.

   

• Can children get COVID-19?

  Yes, children can get COVID-19. In most cases, COVID-19 seems to be milder in young children than in adults, but parents and caregivers should understand that children can be infected with the coronavirus and transmit it to others.

  Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines for children and teens.

• Are the ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines dangerous?

  Exact vaccine ingredients vary by manufacturer, but all of which are found in common foods - fats, sugars, and salts. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines contain RNA (mRNA). The Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccines contains a harmless version of the virus unrelated to the virus that causes COVID-19, which gives instructions to your cells to create immunity. After the body produces an immune response, it discards all ingredients from the vaccine just as it would discard any information that cells no longer need. This is a part of normal body functioning.

  COVID-19 vaccines do NOT contain ingredients like preservatives, tissues (like aborted fetal cells), antibiotics, food proteins, medicines, latex, or metals.

• Will the COVID-19 vaccine affect my fertility?

  There is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems (problems trying to get pregnant) in women or men.

  Learn more about vaccines and fertility at COVID-19 Vaccines for people who would like to have a baby.

• Can the COVID-19 vaccine make me sick?

  COVID-19 vaccines teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. This process can sometimes cause symptoms, such as fever or body aches. These symptoms are normal and are signs that the body is building protection against the virus that causes COVID-19.

  Learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work.

• Is herd immunity a better solution to the COVID-19 pandemic than vaccines?

  Herd immunity is a term that refers to cases of an infectious disease slowing down and stopping when enough people in a population have immunity, either from getting and surviving a disease or from being vaccinated.

  For COVID-19, letting people get the disease would result in many people getting severely sick, suffering lasting organ damage and even dying before herd immunity could occur.

  Being vaccinated for COVID-19 drastically reduces your chance of having severe COVID-19 if you are exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease. Immunity from the vaccine may last longer than immunity from having COVID-19. Also, vaccination reduces the number of infections that give the coronavirus an opportunity to mutate (change). Mutations (variants) of the virus (such as the contagious delta variant) can delay or prevent herd immunity from being reached.

• If I'm young, healthy and since there is a 99% survival rate, do I need the COVID-19 vaccine?

  The way people respond to COVID-19 is unpredictable, and this includes those who don't knowingly have high-risk conditions. Getting vaccinated protects not only you, but also those who are close to you and people who aren't able to get vaccinated.

  Survival rates don't give the full picture. Just because someone didn't die from COVID-19 doesn't mean they won't be impacted long-term or won't spread it to someone who will become severely ill or die. The vaccine is like a seatbelt. You don't think you are going to be in an accident, but it's worth wearing so you have protection just in case.

• Was the testing for the COVID-19 vaccine thorough?

  Trials began with small groups before expanding to much larger numbers (tens of thousand), making sure to include a wide range of people. This included people of different ages, races, sexes, and health conditions, including HIV, diabetes and lung disease.