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under EUA, and additional data collected from ongoing trials will be sufficient to support licensure (approval) of a vaccine authorized under EUA.” In layman’s terms, the clinical trials conducted in tens of thousands of study participants and the manufacturing information submitted by Pfizer and Moderna showed that potential benefits outweigh the known and potential risks of the vaccine’s use, which resulted in the FDA approving their EUA application.
The other crucial point is that not getting vaccinated carries its own (much larger and more dangerous) set of risks. According to the CDC, the coronavirus is more contagious among certain populations and age groups than the flu and has been observed to have more superspreading events. This virus is up to 10 times more deadly than the flu7 and, as of the writing of this article, has killed more than 370,000 Americans. Even those who have contracted COVID-19 and experienced mild to moderate symptoms are not out of the woods. Reinfection can occur and healthcare professionals are continuing to learn of long-term health effects caused by the virus (i.e., Long-haulers Syndrome). When you compare the known risks of getting the vaccine to the known risks of contracting COVID-19, the results are sobering. The most common side effects caused by the vaccine thus far include temporary injection site pain, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain and fever/chills. By contrast, the known health risks associated with the coronavirus include the following:
Known Health Risks and Long-Term Complications of Coronavirus
SHORT-TERM SYMPTOMS8
Fatigue
Headache
Muscle Pain
Joint Pain
Fever or feeling feverish/chills
Sore throat
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Cough
Runny or stuffy nose
Vomiting and/or diarrhea
Loss of taste and/or smell
LONG-TERM COMPLICATIONS/RISKS9
Pneumonia
Respiratory failure
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (fluid in the lungs)
Sepsis
7 https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-disease-2019-vs- the-flu
8 https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/flu-vs-covid19.htm
9 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-long-term-effects/art- 20490351
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