Have a question? Contact us: info@coloradoblackhealth.org
Colorado Black Health Collaborative hears many questions when we are outreaching to the community. We partner with Denver Public Health to stay abreast of the latest COVID-19 developments. These responses are adapted from information provided by Dr. Michelle Haas, as well as Colorado Black Health Collaborative’s research.
- How safe are the vaccines? Very safe. These vaccines have been evaluated in over 56,000 individuals in clinical trials and have now been given to over 71 million people in the U.S. That is like giving everyone in the United Kingdom, France, Thailand or South Africa a vaccine! An early review of serious side effects in 1.8 million people found that only 21 had serious allergic reactions and ALL recovered. (Information as of 3.16.21)
- Do the vaccines contain pork? None of the currently available vaccines contain pork. This vaccine is considered halal by many prominent religious leaders (Imam Quari Muhammad Asim-UK) and considered kosher by the Orthodox Union, US Rabbinic Council. The United Arab Emirates and Israel are leading the world in the percentage of people vaccinated.
- Was this vaccine made with fetal tissue? No. The Vatican has issued a statement stating that taking this vaccine is in alignment with Catholic practices and beliefs. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine did use cell lines derived from fetal tissue over 40 years ago to produce the adenovirus vector only. Cell lines are not considered to be fetal tissue. This is the same construct for the AstroZeneca vaccine which was available when Pope Francis/Vatican issued a statement about taking the COVID vaccines. So, the Vatican was aware of the slight differences in production of these vaccines. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement that Catholics should avoid the Johnson and Johnson vaccine because the adenovirus construct was produced in cell lines. This is at odds with the statement from the Vatican.
- Are the vaccines effective in Black people above the age of 70? What about other people of color? Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines included people from diverse backgrounds (30% in the Pfizer study and 37% in the Moderna study). They both included older adults with at least 20% of individuals being over the age of 65. When each study evaluated the outcomes of each trial, they did not find any differences by age or race/ethnicity. For the Johnson and Johnson, there was even more representation from people of color: almost 20% of people recruited into the trial identified as Black, overall, 75% identified as being a person of color.
- If I am vaccinated as well as my friends/family, can we be around each other without masks indoors for small gatherings? Yes—with some additional precautions. This is evolving as we get more information in about how effective the vaccines are at preventing us from passing COVID to one another. Here’s the latest. Fully vaccinated people can:
- Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
- Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
- Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic
- Can my employer make it mandatory for me to be vaccinated for COVID-19? Currently the state of Colorado is not pursuing any mandates for COVID-19 vaccination. However, an employer may be able to require that their employees engaging in face to face work be vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine.