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Hello again, dear readers, and welcome to our monthly letter column. We are pleased to hear that our recent focus on your questions about coronavirus vaccines has been helpful. Keep sending them and we’ll keep addressing them. Speaking of which:
– A reader with a little friend wondered if coronavirus vaccines should be adapted to the physical size of a person. “My neighbor weighs 94 pounds and is concerned that she may get too much vaccine with a standard vaccine,” he wrote. “Should I get a lower dose?” Adults of all sizes can safely receive the same dose of vaccine. Although the drugs are calibrated to reach certain concentrations in the blood based on body weight, the coronavirus vaccines “speak” directly to the immune system. That means that the dose remains constant, regardless of the size of a person. Your neighbor can safely receive the standard dose of any of the three coronavirus vaccines available in the United States right now.
– Many of you who are about to receive a coronavirus vaccine wanted to know when maximum immunity kicks in. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the second injection of the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, and two weeks after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine injection. only.
– Another frequently asked question is whether it is okay to receive the coronavirus vaccine at the same time as other vaccines. Just as a precaution, the current recommendation is that the COVID-19 series be administered alone, with an interval of at least two weeks before and after any other vaccines.
– Some of you were not sure if the vaccines contained ingredients to which you had known allergies. “I am very allergic to povidone, which is often considered an inactive ingredient in over-the-counter and prescription drugs,” wrote one reader. “Is this a cause for concern with COVID-19 vaccines?” Polyvinylpyrrolidone, also known as povidone or PVP, is a synthetic, water-soluble polymer that helps keep medications in suspension. We have reviewed the ingredients of the COVID-19 vaccine and we do not see povidone listed.
– A reader whose son recovered from Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) as a child asked if the coronavirus vaccine is safe for him as an adult. People with a history of GBS can receive the COVID-19 vaccine unless they have been previously instructed to avoid vaccination. Since this is the case with your child, who was advised to avoid the flu vaccine, be sure to check with your healthcare provider for specific recommendations before proceeding with the coronavirus vaccination.
We’ll end with a piece of mind for those of you who request that your names not be used in the letter column. We do not publish the names of our correspondents. However, we love to imagine where you are writing from, so if you’re up for it, feel free to include your city or state in your emails. As always, thank you to our readers who have taken the time to send kind and encouraging words. It really means a lot to us.
