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When Do You Know If a Vaccine Is Safe?

Side effects from vaccines are exceedingly rare

July 2021

Script

This video is part of our Kite & Key Shorts series — easy to understand ... but hard to forget.

 

Many Americans are worried about long-term side effects from vaccines.

In 2016, 70% of American families who didn’t get their children vaccinated cited ‘fear of complications’ as their reason for avoiding the shots.i

There are similar anxieties around the COVID vaccines.

As of June, tens of millions of Americans said they still wanted to “wait and see” the effects before taking the vaccine.ii

So … how long do they have to wait?

The answer is clearer than you may think.

First: Serious side effects are rare in approved vaccines.

Second: When they do show up, it happens quickly — within six to eight weeks after inoculation.iii

Longer than that? There’s no need to worry.

No approved vaccine has ever produced side effects years after injection.iv

It’s always a good idea to consult with a doctor about vaccine risks, but long-term side effects aren’t one of them.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  1. As of June, tens of millions of Americans said they wanted to “wait and see” the effects before taking a COVID vaccine.
  2. Serious vaccine side effects are very rare and appear within 6-8 weeks after inoculation.
  3. No approved vaccine has ever produced side effects years after injection.

Sources

  1. "Reasons U.S. Families Gave Health Care Professionals for Refusing Vaccinations (2016)"Statista
  2. “KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: June 2021 (Liz Hamel, Lunna Lopes, Audrey Kearney, Grace Sparks, Mellisha Stokes, Mollyann Brodie) — Kaiser Family Foundation 
  3. "Long-term Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccine? What We Know." — Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  4. "Experts Confident About COVID Vaccines' Long-Term Safety" — MedPage Today 

Shownotes

SOUND: BREAK, CHANTELLE BARRY 

FOOTAGE: MUFID MAJNUN (UNSPLASH)

CITED SOURCES AND NEWS OUTLETS ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH THIS PRODUCTION.

Sources

  1. Statista
    "Reasons U.S. Families Gave Health Care Professionals for Refusing Vaccinations (2016)"
  2. Kaiser Family Foundation 
    “KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: June 2021 (Liz Hamel, Lunna Lopes, Audrey Kearney, Grace Sparks, Mellisha Stokes, Mollyann Brodie)
  3. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
    "Long-term Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccine? What We Know."
  4. MedPage Today
    "Experts Confident About COVID Vaccines' Long-Term Safety" (Veronica Hackethal)

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