FAQs: COVID-19 Vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends bivalent booster shots for everyone 6 months and older who has completed the initial vaccine series but has not received a bivalent booster. Additionally, second doses of the bivalent boosters are recommended for adults age 65 and older as well as immunocompromised children and adults 6 years and older.

Lehigh Valley Physician Group (LVPG) primary care (internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics) practices are offering initial vaccine doses, along with primary and secondary booster shots during specific vaccination appointments or as part of yearly physical or sick/problem visits (as long as the patient is not experiencing symptoms of COVID-19).

To schedule a COVID-19 bivalent vaccination or booster, you can log in to MyLVHN, the patient portal, and select “Schedule Vaccine Appointment,” found under the menu icon. From there, a list of LVPG locations where the vaccine is available will be listed. You also can call your practice and schedule directly, if desired.

If you have a child who needs a COVID-19 vaccination or booster, you can call your child’s LVPG Pediatrics office directly or send a secure message through your child’s MyLVHN account. (Note: You will need proxy access to your child’s MyLVHN account to do that.)

Yes. If you want to receive an initial vaccine series or booster through LVHN but you are not a current patient, call 888-402-LVHN (5846) or visit LVHN.org/contact to make a new patient appointment.

You can cancel your appointment through the MyLVHN app or by calling your LVPG primary care practice.

Yes, LVHN does provide second doses for people who received their first dose elsewhere. We ask that you bring proof of your first dose (such as your vaccine card) to your appointment.

People who don’t have access to the MyLVHN app can call their LVPG primary care practice directly to schedule an appointment.

The majority of vaccines available at LVPG practices are Pfizer-BioNTech. Because of this, you are not able to request the specific brand you want to receive.

If you would like to receive the Moderna vaccine series, retail pharmacies in our community are offering it.

Similar to other vaccinations at LVPG practices, an administration fee is billed to patients’ insurance policies after they receive their shots.

There are no preexisting conditions that are contraindications (a symptom or condition that makes use of a drug, like the vaccine, risky) for the COVID-19 vaccine. If you have questions about a medical condition or allergy, speak with your primary care doctor.

There is one situation that requires you to carefully plan when you have your COVID-19 vaccine, booster or third shot:

• You have received a corticosteroid injection: There is currently no direct evidence to suggest that a corticosteroid injection before or after a COVID-19 vaccine, booster or third shot decreases the vaccine’s effectiveness. However, the Spine Intervention Society recommends that people consider the timing of their corticosteroid injection when scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine, booster or third shot. People should wait two weeks after receiving a corticosteroid injection before receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, booster or third shot. After receiving the vaccine, people should wait one week before receiving a corticosteroid injection.

If you recently received a vaccine, there is no reason to delay your COVID-19 vaccination. Likewise, there is no reason to wait to get another vaccine after your COVID-19 vaccination. COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines can be administered without regard to timing.

Yes. While people who have tested positive for COVID-19 do produce antibodies, the antibody levels and how long they last are not known. Due to the severe health risks associated with COVID-19, and the fact that re-infection with COVID-19 is possible, you are advised to get a COVID-19 vaccine even if you have been sick with COVID-19 previously. At this time, experts do not know how long someone is protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. The immunity someone gains from having an infection, called natural immunity, varies from person to person, and the evidence suggests natural immunity may not last very long in some people.

It is recommended that individuals who had/have COVID-19 wait at least 90 days after their infection has resolved to get vaccinated. This helps maximize the efficacy of the vaccine.

No. Both Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s vaccines are mRNA vaccines. This means they are made from genetic material that provides your body with the code it needs to create spike proteins (not the virus) and build immunity. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) and American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), all recommend that pregnant or breastfeeding patients be offered the COVID-19 vaccine.

The CDC and these medical societies also recommend the vaccine be offered to patients undergoing fertility treatment based on Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) eligibility criteria. Since the vaccine is not a live virus, there is no reason to delay pregnancy attempts because of vaccination or to defer treatment.

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According to the CDC, possible side effects include pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, as well as tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and nausea.

The COVID-19 vaccine has been proven safe and effective for children, and it has also been found to reduce the risk for severe illness and death. That is why pediatric specialists at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital are encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated.

For children ages 4 and older, the most common side effects are swelling, redness or pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, chills, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes and joint pain. For children ages 3 and younger, common side effects include pain at the injection site, irritability or crying, swollen lymph nodes, loss of appetite and sleepiness.

You may want to give your child acetaminophen four times a day for the first one to two days at the appropriate dosing after they receive the vaccine. Please don’t give your child ibuprofen or acetaminophen before receiving the vaccine. To reduce pain and discomfort where your child got the shot, apply a cool, wet cloth to the spot where the shot was given. If your child develops a fever, drinking lots of fluids and wearing light clothing can help.

Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s vaccines use messenger-RNA, or mRNA, technology, which uses modified genetic material to cause the body to create a protein from the virus. The immune system then recognizes the protein as foreign and initiates an immune response.

No. These vaccines will not cause you to test positive on viral tests, which are used to see if you have a current infection.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a vaccine stimulates your immune system to produce antibodies and cellular immunity to combat a specific disease, like it would if you were actually exposed to the disease. After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to that disease without having to get the disease first. This is why vaccines are necessary — they prevent disease by letting you develop immunity in a safe and controlled way.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are not completely effective unless you receive all your recommended doses.

If you experience cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, or loss of taste or smell, stay home. Those symptoms are not known to be side effects associated with the vaccine. It may be difficult to distinguish between some side effects of the vaccine and symptoms of COVID-19 or other illnesses. When in doubt, speak to a clinician virtually. You can view virtual care options at LVHN.org/virtualcare.

A flu vaccine will not protect you from getting COVID-19, but it can help prevent you from getting influenza (flu) at the same time as COVID-19. This can help keep you from having a more severe illness. You should encourage all of your friends and family to get flu shots.

Depending on the circumstances and local ordinances, you may need to continue wearing a face mask even after you are vaccinated.

Practicing excellent hand hygiene, social distancing and wearing a face mask in a crowded area all can help reduce levels of spread.

Though the COVID-19 vaccines are very effective, people have still become infected with COVID-19 and transmitted the virus after vaccination.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends additional primary vaccine doses for individuals ages 5 and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised. Additionally, the organization recommends that children ages 6 months to 4 years who are moderately or severely immunocompromised and receive the Moderna primary vaccine series receive an additional primary series shot.

Additional Pfizer-BioNTech primary vaccine doses are available at all LVPG primary care (family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics) practices for all individuals ages 5 and older.

At this time, LVHN is not offering additional primary Moderna doses. If you or your child needs to receive an additional Moderna dose, we recommend making an appointment with a retail pharmacy in our community.

To schedule a COVID-19 bivalent vaccination, you can log in to MyLVHN, the patient portal, and select “Schedule Vaccine Appointment,” found under the menu icon. From there, a list of LVPG locations where the vaccine is available will be listed. You also can call your practice and schedule directly, if desired.

If you have a child who needs a COVID-19 vaccination, you can call your child’s LVPG Pediatrics office directly or send a secure message through your child’s MyLVHN account. (Note: You will need proxy access to your child’s MyLVHN account to do that.)

According to the CDC, some people with moderately to severely compromised immune systems do not always build the same level of immunity after vaccination against COVID-19, compared to people who are not immunocompromised.

You may be immunocompromised if you:

• Are actively receiving cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood
• Have received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress your immune system
• Have received a stem cell transplant within the last two years or are taking medicine to suppress your immune system
• Have moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome or Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
• Have advanced or untreated HIV infection
• Are undergoing active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress your immune response

A full list of conditions and circumstances that may make you immunocompromised is available on the CDC website, cdc.gov.

Studies on an additional primary dose of the COVID-19 shot show it is safe and that mild or moderate reaction symptoms were consistent with earlier doses. No patients developed critical side effects that required hospitalization.

Initial vaccine doses are available for people age 6 months and older. For those 6 years and older, only a single dose of the bivalent vaccine is required to complete the vaccine series. Booster shots are available for people ages 5 and older. Second doses of the booster are available for adults age 65 and older as well as immunocompromised children and adults 6 years and older.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends the bivalent mRNA vaccine boosters made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. If you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine initially, you should receive the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine as your booster. 

While LVHN mainly offers the Pfizer-BioNTech booster (and you cannot select the brand you wish to receive), retail pharmacies in our community offer the Moderna booster.

To schedule a COVID-19 bivalent vaccination or booster, you can log in to MyLVHN, the patient portal, and select “Schedule Vaccine Appointment,” found under the menu icon. From there, a list of LVPG locations where the vaccine is available will be listed. You also can call your practice and schedule directly, if desired.

If you have a child who needs a COVID-19 vaccination or booster, you can call your child’s LVPG Pediatrics office directly or send a secure message through your child’s MyLVHN account. (Note: You will need proxy access to your child’s MyLVHN account to do that.)

Medical conditions that may put someone more at risk include:

• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD
• Down syndrome
• Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies
• Being immunocompromised (having a weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant or blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids or use of other immune weakening medicines
• Obesity (having a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher but less than 40 kg/m2)
• Severe obesity (having a body mass index equal to or greater than 40 kg/m2)
• Pregnancy
• Sickle cell disease
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Being a smoker also can put someone at higher risk.

You may experience mild or moderate reaction symptoms very similar to the side effects experienced after your initial COVID-19 vaccinations. 

Side effects may include:

• Pain, redness and swelling at the injection site 
• Fatigue 
• Headache 
• Muscle or joint pain  
• Chills 
• Swollen lymph nodes in the underarm