Carroll will host COVID-19 vaccine clinic

On Wednesday, May 26, Archbishop Carroll will host a clinic to administer the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to anyone 16 or older. 

The COVID -19 clinic will be from 3 – 7 p.m. 

Limited information about the clinic has been given so far, but more should be released soon. 

“We look forward to sharing more information about this vaccine clinic with you next week,” said Mr. Gennaro in an email on May 7.

The Pfizer vaccine is a two-dose shot. This means that anyone getting their first vaccine shot will have to plan a second shot after three weeks, or 21 days. The second shot must be a Pfizer shot, not the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

“COVID-19 vaccines are not interchangeable,” the CDC said on its website. “If you received a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19” vaccine, you should get the same product for your second shot.  You should get your second shot even if you have side effects after the first shot, unless a vaccination provider or your doctor tells you not to get it.”

Anyone of a younger age group that has been cleared by the FDA should face about the same side effects as people from older age groups. 

“The most common [side effects] are pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, and fever,” according to a May 4 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Side effects generally subside in 24 hours.”

The Pfizer vaccine has been cleared for anyone 16 and older, but that age limit is set to open for a younger age group. 

“The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to authorize use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in adolescents 12 to 15 years old by early next week, according to federal officials familiar with the agency’s plans, opening up the U.S. vaccination campaign to millions more people,” The New York Times reported last week.