About COVID-19 Vaccines in Vermont

The initial supply of COVID-19 vaccine will be limited, and vaccination efforts will be prioritized to groups that:

• Are most critical to the COVID-19 response
• Provide direct care to others
• Are essential to maintaining a functioning society
• Are at highest risk for developing severe illness from COVID-19

First priority groups (Phase 1A) eligible for vaccination:

• Health care personnel (healthcare personnel comprise clinical staff members, including nursing or medical assistants and support staff (e.g., those who work in food, environmental, and administrative services))
• Residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) (LTCFs include skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities (vaccination may be offered first to residents and health care personnel in skilled nursing facilities because of highHealth care pesonnel (health care personnel are clinical staff members, including nursing or medical assistants likely to be exposed to COVID-19 patients and long-term care residents.

The Vermont Vaccine Implementation Advisory Committee has specified that "health care personnel" includes:

• Long-term care staff who have direct patient contact.
• Health care providers (all classes including students and support personnel), primarily but not exclusively located in the Emergency Departments and Intensive Care Units, providing care to patients with COVID-19.
• Emergency Medical Services personnel with direct patient contact.
• Home health care clinical staff and caregivers who have contact with multiple patients or who are high-risk for serious illness from COVID-19.
• Any other health care providers and staff who have patient contact.

The definition of "staff" includes all health care providers who enter the facility, regardless of who employs them, as well as ancillary staff. Family caregivers are not included in this definition.

Learn more about vaccines for long-term care residents and staff from the Vermont Federal Pharmacy Partnership.

CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made recommendations for the next priority groups (Phase 1B and 1C) and presented data to support it. Next the Vermont COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee will meet and make recommendations to the Health Department..

Vermont received the first shipment of vaccines. These vaccines will be prioritized for health care workers and long-term care residents. Pharmacies contracted to provide COVID-19 vaccines at long-term care facilities may hold their vaccination clinics as early as December 21, 2020.

As of December 11, the Health Department was allocated 5,850 doses. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine manufacturer has reserved an equal number of the second dose. Vaccine requests will be made to the CDC on a weekly basis. The number of vaccine doses each state receives is based on overall U.S. supply and state population. 

The health care workers and long-term care residents and staff will be notified directly about when and where they can get vaccinated. Vaccination sites will include local hospitals and select pharmacies that are partnering with long-term care facilities.

When a COVID-19 vaccine is more widely available, we will work closely with the health care providers, pharmacies, and others who will provide the vaccine in Vermont to ensure access across the state. We will also collaborate with community organizations and other partners to make sure people who are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, including Black, Indigenous and people of color, have equitable access to the vaccine. 

Two COVID-19 vaccines have received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Learn more about Emergency Use Authorization and watch a video on what an EUA is.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine received an EUA on December 11, 2020. The Moderna vaccine received an EUA on December 18, 2020. 

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have nearly identical rates of effectiveness (94%-95%). Both vaccines require two doses over a similar timespan – 21 days between doses for Pfizer-BioNTech and 28 days for Moderna. Both are authorized for similar age groups. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is authorized for people 16 years and older. The Moderna vaccine is authorized for people 18 years and older. The main difference between the vaccines is storage temperature. Pfizer-BioNTech requires ultracold storage.

Both vaccines are mRNA vaccines, which when introduced into the body, activate the body to produce “spike proteins,” which are displayed on the outside of the body’s cells, and create an immune response.

Some participants in clinical trials for both vaccines showed a strong immune response, leading to side effects. The second shot may result in a stronger immune response than the first shot. This is a normal way that your body builds immunity to COVID-19. There have been no major adverse reactions. Below are some of the participants' most reported side effects during clinical trials for the two leading vaccines.

Side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reported by some trial participants:

• Pain at the injection site (84.1%)
• Fatigue (62.9%)
• Headache (55.1%)
• Chills (31.9%)
• Joint Pain (23.6%)
• Fever (14.2%)

Side effects for the Moderna vaccine reported by some trial participants

• Pain at the injection site (92%)
• Fatigue (70%)
• Headache (64.7%)
• Muscle pain (61.5%)
• Joint pain (46.4%)
• Chills (45.4%)
• Nausea/Vomiting (23%)
• Fever (15.5%)

The health care workers and long-term care residents and staff will be notified directly about when and where they can get vaccinated.

The Health Department is not keeping a list of eligible people. When there is enough vaccine available, we announce when Vermonters can register for appointments. In addition to Health Department communications, we will work with partners such as health care practices, pharmacies, employers, and local news media to announce additional groups who become eligible for the vaccine.

Shots will be available by appointment, to avoid lines and to make sure there is enough physical distancing between people.

Yes. People who get the vaccine should continue taking prevention steps. This is because even if the vaccine protects you from illness, we still don’t have enough information on whether you could still transmit the virus to someone else. Even once we do learn this, there are a number of things we need to know before we can ease up on things like mask-wearing and physical distancing, including how many people get vaccinated and how the virus is spreading in communities.

Together, the COVID-19 vaccine and prevention steps to prevent COVID-19 is the best protection from getting and spreading COVID-19.

Years of research into vaccines have brought us to where we are today. Researchers began working on vaccines for earlier versions of the coronavirus starting with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) 2003 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012. When these viruses disappeared, interest in finding a coronavirus vaccine decreased. Lessons learned from this earlier vaccine research have been used to inform strategies for developing a COVID-19 vaccine. Now the global focus on eliminating this new coronavirus and ending the pandemic, combined with funding has helped speed up the research process to create a safe and effective vaccine. 

Both the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine have received Emergency Use Authorization from U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Step 1: Vaccine Safety

With a brand new vaccine, researchers give it to a small number of volunteers — usually 20 to 100 — to test for any serious side effects. This step also helps determine the right dose or amount of vaccine to use.

Step 2: Vaccine Effectiveness

Once they know a vaccine isn’t likely to cause any serious side effects, researchers then give it to hundreds of people to determine how well the vaccine works (or its effectiveness). Researchers continue to monitor for any short-term side effects.

Step 3: Double Check Safety & Effectiveness

This is the last step before researchers can apply for approval from the FDA and begin to use it. To make sure the vaccine is safe and effective for people across ages, ethnicities, genders, and other factors, they give it to tens of thousands of people. This uncovers less common side effects and confirms once again that it’s safe and works well for everyone.

Step 4: Continue to Check Safety & Effectiveness:

Even after researchers have answered the big questions, they keep studying the vaccine. They gather longer-term data to make sure the vaccine continues to work well.

Sometimes, when a vaccine is urgently needed, researchers combine steps to speed up the approval process. This doesn’t mean that they’re skipping any important steps. It does mean researchers and public health organizations are working together at an extraordinary level to get a safe, e­ffective vaccine to the people who need it the most.