Pfizer has reported that its vaccine is 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 infection, once seven days have passed since the second vaccine dose (booster shot). The Moderna vaccine is reporting a 94.5% effectiveness rate.

The COVID vaccine will help your body generate antibodies to help protect you from the virus without getting sick. Vaccines can produce longer-lasting protection than if you had the disease. Research shows antibodies in recovering adults last up to four months. The CDC says more data is needed to know how long immunity produced by the vaccination will last.

In a Pfizer trial study, the vaccine prevented the disease in 100 percent of the 1,131 adolescents who received it. Pfizer said the vaccine was well tolerated and side effects were consistent with those reported by people 16-25 years old. Our pediatricians and physicians say it is better to get the vaccine than to risk getting the disease, the symptoms and the possible long-term effects.

Please review the fact sheets for each vaccine, as developed by the manufacturers: 

• Pfizer vaccine
• Moderna vaccine
• Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine

These are not new technologies. The vaccines are actually set up to give us immunity that is better than natural infection. We know the side effects of the natural infection. When we compare the risks to those at the frontlines that are being exposed to the virus and those in our community who are at high-risk for severe disease and death, those risks greatly overshadow the unknown risks of the vaccine.

No, it is made from a portion of the virus’ molecular material (RNA). For more information on the science behind the vaccine, please visit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site, Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines. Also check out, Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines.

Both. More than 90% of the people in the phase 3 trials did not get COVID-19. Of those who did get it, only one person in the Pfizer study has a severe case, the rest of the participants in Pfizer had minor symptoms.

Yes, because the vaccine is 95% effective, not 100% effective. Those exposed to the virus later, after the booster vaccine, tended to have mild symptoms if they became ill at all.

According to the CDC, experts do not know what percentage of people would need to get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity to COVID-19.

The American Lung Association’s blog says, “In most cases, herd immunity is not achieved without an effective vaccine. For COVID-19, the percentage of the population that needs to be infected to achieve herd immunity is estimated to be between 70% and 90%, and this is assuming lasting immunity is possible.”

Herd immunity could happen naturally but would take years. Also, we know acquiring immunity through natural disease is risky to that person and comes with a high cost of hospitalizations, long-term health problems and even more deaths.

Weigh the risk of contracting or spreading this potentially life-threatening disease to those who are vulnerable against the risks, side effects, safety and effectiveness of the vaccines offered.

Older age and underlying medical conditions including obesity, a compromised immune system, hypertension, COPD, diabetes, and heart disease increase the risk of severe illness from the virus and should be considered as well. You may wish to discuss with your primary care provider.

Watch this brief video from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Idaho Resources

• Idaho COVID-19 Information 
• Idaho COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee
• Crush the Curve Idaho

National Resources

• Centers for Disease Control (CDC): COVID-19 FAQs
• National Institutes of Health (NIH):  Coronavirus
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA): COVID-19 Vaccines

St. Luke’s has been administering vaccine since Dec. 18, 2020. Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen vaccines are now available in Idaho.

If you don’t have a myChart account, you can create one online or by calling 208-381-9000. If you are unable to use technology or need interpretation services, please call 208-381-9500. You may also set up online myChart proxy access for family members or dependents and fill out a questionnaire for them.

If you are an adult 18+, you can schedule by following these steps:

1. Log into St. Luke’s myChart. (If you don’t have an account, you can create one online or by calling 208-381-9000.)
2. Click on Schedule COVID Vaccine Appointment.
3. Answer a few quick questions and then schedule your vaccine appointment.

You can also call 208-381-9500 to schedule an appointment. 

For minors 16-17 years old:

• Minors cannot consent for a COVID vaccine. They must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to provide consent at the time of the appointment. Written or verbal consent will need to be provided by a parent or legal guardian, if not present at the time of the appointment.  
• Teens 16-17 years old can only receive the Pfizer vaccine, which is available at St. Luke’s sites in Boise, Hailey, McCall, Meridian, Mountain Home, Nampa and Twin Falls.
• Minors cannot schedule their own appointments in myChart. Parents or legal guardians with teen proxy access can schedule for the minor. To get teen proxy access, the teen will need to grant teen proxy access to their parent or legal guardian through their own MyChart account.
• Parents can schedule without proxy access by calling 208-381-9500.
• Minors can schedule their own vaccine appointment by calling 208-381-9500, however, they must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to provide consent at the time of the appointment, or provide written or verbal consent of a parent or legal guardian, if not present at the time of the appointment. 

How to Schedule

1. Log into St. Luke’s myChart. (If a minor doesn’t have an account, they will need to get an activation code online or by calling 208-381-9000.)
2. Click on Schedule COVID Vaccine Appointment.
3. Answer a few quick questions and then schedule your vaccine appointment.
4. Or call 208-381-9500.

• Minors cannot consent for a COVID vaccine. A parent or legal guardian should accompany minors to provide consent at the time of the appointment. Written or verbal consent by phone may be accepted if a parent or legal guardian is not present.  
  • Consent Form - English
  • Consent Form - Spanish
• Children 12-15 years old can only receive the Pfizer vaccine, which is available at St. Luke’s sites in Boise, Hailey, McCall, Meridian, Mountain Home, Nampa and Twin Falls.
• Minors cannot schedule their own appointments in myChart. Parents or legal guardians with teen proxy access can schedule for the minor. To get teen proxy access, the teen will need to grant teen proxy access to their parent or legal guardian through their own MyChart account.
• Parents and children can walk in or a parent can schedule by calling 208-381-9500. Note: we are not able to accommodate walk-ins in Hailey.
• Patients should wear loose-fitting clothing to allow access to the upper arm.
• Parents should be aware that we will not give the vaccine to children who don’t want it.

• Minors cannot consent for a COVID vaccine. A parent or legal guardian should accompany minors to provide consent at the time of the appointment. Written or verbal consent by phone may be accepted if a parent or legal guardian is not present.  
  • Consent Form - English
  • Consent Form - Spanish
• Children 5-11 years old can only receive the Pfizer vaccine at some St. Luke’s sites. Find a list of available sites and appointments at the time of scheduling.
• Minors cannot schedule their own appointments in MyChart. Parents or legal guardians with proxy access can schedule for the minor. 
• At this time, we are not able to accommodate walk-in appointments for this age group. 
• Patients should wear loose-fitting clothing to allow access to the upper arm.
• Parents should be aware that we will not give the vaccine to children who don’t want it.

St. Luke’s assigns specific vaccines to different sites in order to keep you safe and ensure you get the same vaccine if two doses are required. We do not have the ability at this time to let you choose which vaccine you get. You will be notified before you get vaccinated which one you are receiving.

Please review our visitor policy.

Johnson & Johnson: Pain at the injection site is most common. Other common reactions included headache, fatigue and myalgia. Most symptoms resolved in one to two days.

It is important to note that reactions after the vaccine and the actual COVID-19 infection are significantly different. Vaccine reactions may involve some mild symptoms occurring in the first couple of days, coupled with the pain at the injection site, redness and swelling (from the vaccine), as noted above. By contrast, the COVID-19 infection reaction has a respiratory component, cough and nasal congestion, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath, much more fever, and also a longer period of muscle pain, fatigue and headache.

Infrequently, people who have received dermal fillers may develop swelling at or near the filler injection site, usually face or lips, after receiving a dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna). It appears to be temporary and can resolve with medical treatment, including corticosteroid therapy. People who have received dermal fillers can be vaccinated without additional precautions but should contact their health care provider if they develop swelling afterward.

The recommendation is to go ahead and get the vaccine. The Pfizer data included individuals that had recently had a positive test and also got the vaccine. There's a lot of theoretical and other evidence that suggests that the immunity from the vaccine may actually be a longer, more protective immunity than the variable immunity you can get after a natural infection. However, we do not want people who are actively sick getting the vaccine. But any recovered individual, whether it was a documented COVID or suspected COVID, should get the vaccine. If there are any questions, discuss them with a health care provider.

St. Luke’s would follow the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommendation, which recommends that it may be helpful for the pregnant patient to have a conversation with their OB or their family medical doctor. We will give a pregnant or lactating woman the vaccine if she chooses to get it, whether or not she has spoken with her OB or provider.

The vaccine will be administered at no cost to the patient.

Although the vaccine itself is free, the federal government has created a way for health systems to charge and bill for the administration of the drugs.

Health systems will receive reimbursement from insurance plans and the federal government with no cost to patients.

If you have lost or forgotten your CDC vaccine card, you can receive another one at your appointment or by going to a St. Luke's clinic that is currently providing COVID-19 vaccines. You also may access your medical records online through myChart for proof of vaccine.

Yes, the CDC has updated their guidance to state that health workers may administer another needed vaccine at the same time as the COVID vaccine. This applies to patients of any age.

When considering timing of vaccination, keep in mind that the goal is to get the booster as close to three weeks (Pfizer) or four weeks (Moderna) as possible. If you will be unable to get to the facility for the initial vaccine or booster appointment times, you may consider rescheduling your procedure based on your initial vaccine date to ensure you can make it to your booster appointment. Also, since there is a chance of not feeling well for up to three days after your vaccine or booster vaccine, please do not plan on a procedure during those few days.

If baseline TB screening is required, it can be done before the person receives the vaccine. The IGRA can be drawn any time prior to the COVID Vaccine or the TST can be placed and read (up to 72 hours after placement) before receiving the COVID Vaccine.

If the person has recently received the COVID-19 vaccine, the current CDC recommendations state the need to defer TST (TB skin test) or IGRA (TB blood test) until four weeks after completion of the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. If the person is in that COVID-19 vaccine window, we recommend a healthcare screening to ensure that an individual does not have any symptoms of active (contagious) tuberculosis disease. This screening is provided by the Occupational Health clinics.

This health care screening does not rule out latent tuberculosis, which is when the disease is only in a dormant state and cannot be spread to others.  However, with this preliminary clearance, testing for latent TB can be deferred until the four-week post-COVID-19 booster waiting period has ended.  Once that person is past their COVID-19 vaccine window, they should proceed with the IGRA or TST, screening for latent TB.

The CDC has published information on What to Expect after Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine and posts updates as more information becomes available.

Experts need to understand more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide and how long it lasts. Participants in the phase 3 clinical trials will be studied for the next two years to find these answers.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends COVID-19 boosters after the primary series for those 12 and older who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for their initial series six or more months ago or who received Johnson & Johnson two or more months ago. Recently, the FDA and CDC approved bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for boosters for ages 5 and older, and the monovalent vaccines were no longer authorized under emergency use authorization for use as boosters in these age groups. A single booster dose with an updated bivalent COVID-19 vaccine is designed to provide broad protection against COVID-19 and better protection against COVID-19 caused by the currently circulating Omicron variants, BA.4 and BA.5. Those who received the monovalent booster recently should wait at least eight weeks before receiving the bivalent booster.

Appointments should be scheduled through MyChart or by calling (208) 381-9500.

While you may prefer to receive the same brand COVID-19 vaccine for your primary series and booster, federal agencies have approved a “mix-and-match” approach with vaccination products where necessary or sought by patients. We can accommodate this CDC guideline at our clinics and vaccination sites.

When you receive a vaccination in one of our clinics, you will have the option to be monitored for about 15 minutes and medical staff will use safety precautions and respond immediately if you have an initial reaction. If you have a delayed reaction, please contact your primary care provider or call 911.

Yes. Experts need to know more about the protection provided by the vaccine, like how long it lasts, before changes are made to public prevention recommendations. To stop the pandemic, everyone should keep wearing masks, washing hands often and social distancing. 

Masks are still required at all St. Luke's facilities, regardless of vaccination status. 

It is most safe to visit those who are also vaccinated. The COVID-19 vaccines are not 100% effective and some, such as those who are unable to be vaccinated (e.g., young children) and some immunocompromised people who may not have developed robust antibodies to the vaccine, may be less protected and/or not protected.

Getting the COVID-19 vaccine will affect when or if you are eligible to donate blood. View Red Cross guidelines