Pasadena Health Officials Seek to Dispel Myths About COVID-19 Vaccination

With the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine expected in Pasadena within days, local medical experts are providing information in hopes of dispelling myths and misunderstandings about the vaccine.

While the Pfizer vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week proved to be 95 percent effective at preventing those who received it from falling ill with COVID-19, vaccinated people can still pass the virus to those without immunity, Huntington Hospital infectious disease expert Dr. Kimberly Shriner and Pasadena Director of Public Health Dr. Ying-Ying Goh told the City Council Monday.

“I think people maybe have the misunderstanding that if they get the vaccine they don’t need to worry about transmitting the disease,” she said.

“We know that the vaccine protects you from the disease, but it doesn’t protect you from actually acquiring the virus. It just keeps you from getting sick from it,” she explained. “So what we’re concerned about is that those individuals will continue to have the capability of transmitting the disease to someone who has not had the vaccine and is not immune.”

The first shipment of 1,950 doses of the vaccines was expected to arrive at Huntington Hospital by the end of the week, “possibly Thursday,” Goh said. In keeping with state and federal guidelines, the first doses will be prioritized for health care workers, residents and workers of long-term care facilities, and people with medical vulnerabilities.

“Additional doses have been requested and are expected to arrive weekly,” she said.

Widespread public availability of the vaccine was not expected until the summer, according to Los Angeles County public health officials.

The most common adverse reactions to the vaccine have been “mild or moderate,” including symptoms such as fatigue, headache, muscle pain, injection site pain, and chills, according to Goh.

Independent reviews have determined the vaccine to be safe, she added.

“The Western States scientific safety review group, a panel of nationally acclaimed scientists with expertise in immunization and public health, completed their concurrent thorough and independent review of the federal process and confirmed that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is safe and efficacious and provided their confirmation to the governors of California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington [Monday],” Goh said.

Shriner added that out of a sample size of 23,000 patients who received the vaccine, “only about 1,800 experienced any type of side effect that was significant enough to report.”

Huntington Hospital was eagerly anticipating the arrival of the first vaccines, spokeswoman Dorey Huston said.

“We are thrilled at the news delivered today that Huntington Hospital could receive our initial shipment of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine this week, as directed by Pasadena Public Health,” she said. “Our caregivers who have been at the frontlines of this pandemic will be the first eligible to receive these initial doses, and we look forward to vaccinating our entire workforce as soon as possible under our ethical framework based on risk-exposure.”

But the ongoing viral surge continued to pose a serious threat, as well as a serious challenge to health care workers, according to Huston.

“While this vaccine brings us hope for the future, today we are dealing with a record-breaking number of COVID-19 patients at our hospital. This surge is certainly the result of gatherings and travels from the Thanksgiving holiday and we are concerned that the upcoming holidays could create a new wave of infections if health orders are not followed,” she said.

“We are pleading with the community to help us stop this surge today by continuing to wear a mask and physical distance as you leave your home for essential work and activities only, and refrain from gathering with anyone outside of your household during the holiday,” Huston said. “We are proud to be here for our community during this pandemic and are grateful for everyone who is helping us stop the spread. Your support means everything to us right now.”

The already approved Pfizer vaccine has demonstrated a 95 percent overall efficacy rate in preventing COVID-19 infection among those who received it, along with a 94 percent efficacy rate among adults 65 and older, according to the company.

Another vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Moderna, which is pending FDA approval, has shown a 94 percent efficacy rate, coupled with a 100 percent efficacy at preventing “severe COVID-19,” Moderna representatives said. Federal officials have described the efficacy rate for older adults as 87 percent.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also released a fact sheet aimed at myth-busting bad info about the vaccines.

COVID-19 vaccines cannot infect a person with the virus, according to the CDC.

It generally takes several weeks for the body to build up an immunity to the virus after being vaccinated, the agency said.

Being vaccinated will not cause a person to test positive on a COVID-19 test, the CDC added.

Even those who have already been infected with the virus may benefit from vaccination, as re-infection is believed to be possible, and it is not clear how long after infection a person may retain immunity. “Some early evidence suggests natural immunity may not last very long,” according to the CDC fact sheet.

Scientists do not yet know how long the vaccine provides immunity, pending further research, according to the CDC.