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COVID-19 vaccine FAQ

Frequently asked questions about COVID‑19 vaccine

September 12, 2023: Updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 Vaccine

CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the newer variants and potentially serious COVID-19 illness this fall and winter.

Supply is limited while vaccine is being shipped. Check with your pharmacy, healthcare provider, or visit Vaccines.gov to search for appointments. Starting October 3, we will offer vaccinations at our Public Health Center in Kent. Appointment scheduling will open soon.

Limited vaccine appointments are available at our Public Health Center in Kent. See our Getting Vaccinated in King County page, Option 5 for more details.

Updated on January 5, 2023: Page refreshed.

Find definitions of COVID-19 terms and more information in our COVID-19 glossary.

View the COVID-19 FAQ page to find out the top 3 questions this week.

Link/share this page at www.kingcounty.gov/covid/vaccinefaq


Questions answered by the WA Department of Health

Find information about COVID-19 vaccine in over 40 languages from the Washington State Department of Health, including:

  • Information and videos about vaccine safety and how the vaccine was developed
  • How the COVID-19 vaccines work and what’s in the vaccines
  • Information about booster shots
  • Information for immunocompromised people
  • Possible side effects and reactions

They also have FAQs for parents and guardians about COVID-19 vaccine for children, including:

  • Concerns about COVID-19 and children
  • Common side effects in children
  • Booster doses for children
  • Safety and effectiveness for children

Use the drop-down language menu to see all of the available languages on the WA Dept. of Health FAQ page.


Questions we have commonly heard from people in King County

COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed to hospitals, pharmacies, community health centers and other providers. Learn more about where to get vaccinated in King County.

  • No, the COVID-19 vaccine can't give you magnetic properties, including at the site of vaccination (your arm).
  • There is nothing in the vaccines that can produce an electromagnetic field. All COVID-19 vaccines don't have any metals such as iron, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth alloys. They also don't have any manufactured products such as microelectronics, electrodes, carbon nanotubes, or nanowire semiconductors.
  • See the full ingredient lists for the COVID-19 vaccines below in the How COVID-19 vaccine works section.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the CDC recommend getting a COVID-19 vaccine if you are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding. Getting a vaccine could help both you and your baby.

  • Pregnant people have a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
  • The vaccines are very effective at preventing COVID-19 infection, severe illness, and death, and protection may be passed on to your baby as it develops.
  • A growing amount of data confirms that COVID-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy. There is no evidence to show that getting a vaccine increase the risk of miscarriage. If you have questions, talk to your doctor.

Yes, you should be vaccinated regardless of whether you already had COVID-19. Vaccinations offer a more predictable protection, and they will likely last longer.

If you have already had COVID-19, you will likely have some level of natural immunity, but this can vary greatly from person to person. We also don't know how long that natural protection lasts and whether it will protect from other variants. That means that you could eventually be reinfected with the virus or with a different variant.

Getting vaccinated after infection is safe and will offer you the best overall protection against future COVID-19 infections.

  1. Look up your vaccination from WA state's "My Immunization Registry" (MyIR). If you have registered, log in to MyIR to look up your vaccination record, and then print or take a screenshot or photo of the information. If you do not have an account, you can sign up for MyIR any time.
  2. Use the mobile version of WA state's immunization registry, MyIRmobile to get a vaccination certificate. MyIRmobile matches records based on name, birthday, phone, and email. If any of these fields are missing or incorrect you will be unable to match your record. For matching issues, you can use the chat feature in MyIR Mobile or call 833-VAX-HELP.
  3. If you received your vaccine at your health care provider, the provider's office should be able to give you a copy of your record.
  4. You may go back to the site you were vaccinated and ask a clinic supervisor for a new card. They may be able to look you up and create a new card.

Your child may have a sore arm, feel achy and have a fever from the COVID-19 vaccine, similar to side effects from other vaccines for children. These side effects are temporary and usually go away in 1-2 days.

Cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the outer lining of the heart) have been reported after Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination of older youth, ages 12–17 years. These reactions are rare and mostly in young males. In general, people who developed these conditions were able to quickly recover after treatment.

In the clinical vaccine trial in children aged 5-11, there were no cases of myocarditis in the three-month follow-up period after vaccination. The clinical trial is ongoing and the CDC and FDA have systems in place to continue to monitor and detect possible reactions or other uncommon side effects.

No. There is no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, can cause female or male fertility problems. Millions of women have become pregnant after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Unvaccinated women have a higher risk of death or death of their baby than women who were vaccinated against COVID-19.


Link/share our site at kingcounty.gov/covid/vaccinefaq

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