Lindsay Sween, MD, MPH; Rhashedah Ekeoduru, MD; David Mann, MD, DBe
ASA Monitor February 2022, Vol. 86, 24-25.
To date, over 454 million total vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S. (asamonitor.pub/3CZSXhr). Common side effects are mild and transient (e.g., injection site pain, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, and lymphadenopathy). Severe side effects like anaphylaxis are extremely rare. Although all vaccines authorized under the EUA are new, the likelihood of long-term side effects is extremely low (asamonitor.pub/3D3yhVF; asamonitor.pub/3o5F50N).
Despite the documented safety, efficacy, and widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S., only 62.8% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated as of November 24, 2021 (asamonitor.pub/3CZSXhr). In response to low vaccination rates but an increasing rate of infections and deaths, federal and state governments, health care systems, school districts, and private companies are instituting vaccine mandates....
