Covid-19 Vaccination Service

COVID-19 is an illness that can affect your lungs and airways, and sometimes other parts of your body. It is caused by a virus called coronavirus.

COVID-19 is highly infectious. It spreads through the air through droplets produced when people cough or sneeze, or when they touch surfaces where the droplets have landed and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth. COVID-19 can cause serious illness, hospitalisation and even death.

Common symptoms of COVID-19 include:

• a fever (high temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or above)
• a new cough – this can be any kind of cough, not just dry
• shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
• loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you have noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or they smell or taste differently

You may not have all these symptoms, or you may just feel generally less well than usual. It can take up to 14 days for symptoms to show. They can be similar to symptoms of cold or flu.

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, self-isolate (stay in your room) and phone a GP (Doctor). They can arrange a COVID-19 test for you.

For more information on COVID-19, please visit www.hse.ie/coronavirus or call HSELive on 1850 24 1850

Vaccines teach your immune system how to protect you from diseases. It is much safer for your immune system to learn this through vaccination than by catching the diseases and attempting to treat them. Vaccines can reduce or even eradicate some diseases if enough people are vaccinated.

The long-term response to the pandemic requires a safe and effective vaccine to be available for all who need it. It is a way to keep you, your friends and family safe, potentially leading to lifting of restrictions.

The Government will let you know when it is your turn and how to get your vaccine through advertising or direct invitation.

You will need to read this leaflet and the manufacturer’s Patient Information Leaflet before you get the vaccine. You can find the COVID-19 Vaccine manufacturer’s Patient Information Leaflet on: www.hse.ie/covid19vaccinePIL

You can also talk to a healthcare professional in advance. If you decide to get the vaccine, you will give your consent, which will be recorded.

The HSE is offering the vaccine free of charge

No. The COVID-19 vaccine cannot give you COVID-19. It is possible to have caught COVID-19 before getting your vaccine and not realise you have the symptoms until after your vaccination appointment.

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, it is important to self-isolate (stay in your room) and arrange a free test to find out if you have COVID-19.

If you have a fever which starts more than two days after you get the vaccine, or lasts longer than two days, you should self-isolate and ask a GP (Doctor) to arrange a COVID-19 test for you.

If you have COVID-19 symptoms after the first dose, you still need to have the second dose. While you may get some protection from the first dose, having the second dose will give you the best protection against the virus.

Yes. Even if you have already had COVID-19, you could still get it again. The vaccine will reduce your risk of getting COVID-19 again. Even if you do get COVID-19 again, the vaccine can reduce the seriousness of your symptoms.

No. You should delay getting vaccinated until you recover from COVID-19.

Do this for:

• at least four weeks after you first notice symptoms or
• four weeks since you tested positive for COVID-19

No. You should delay getting the vaccine if you have a fever (temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or above), until you feel better.

You can get the COVID-19 vaccine if you are breastfeeding.

Talk to your obstetrician, midwife or GP about getting your COVID-19 vaccine if you are pregnant.It's recommended you get your COVID-19 vaccine when it's offered to you. Being vaccinated will reduce the chance of you becoming very unwell.

It may also reduce the chance of complications during pregnancy. If you are seriously ill with COVID-19 during pregnancy, complications can include premature labour or stillbirths linked to COVID placentitis.

Pregnancy

Pregnant women are at similar risk of COVID-19 infection to non-pregnant women of the same age.

However, if pregnant women become infected with SARS-COV2 they are at increased risk of hospitalisation, at increased risk of premature delivery if symptomatic in the third trimester and of stillbirth and at significantly higher risk of ICU admission.

There is now a growing body of evidence on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination –– clearly indicating that that the benefits of vaccination outweigh any known or potential risks of COVID- 19 vaccination during pregnancy.

Vaccination is the best way to protect both mother and baby from serious harm and mRNA vaccines should be available to pregnant women at all stages of pregnancy.

Because there is more data available about mRNA vaccines in pregnancy, these vaccines are recommended for pregnant women; all information shows pregnancy complication rates similar to what would normally be expected. No unexpected pregnancy or infant outcomes have been observed related to COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. Long term follow up of vaccine recipients is on- going. Please note that women aged less than 30 years should receive Comirnaty®, rather than Spikevax ®as a second, booster or additional dose.

There is no evidence that any COVID-19 vaccine affects fertility or the fetus. No unexpected pregnancy or infant outcomes have been observed related to COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.

As with all vaccines, you can report suspected side effects to the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).

The HPRA is the regulatory authority in the Republic of Ireland for medicines, medical devices, and other health products. As part of its role in the safety monitoring of medicines, the HPRA operates a system through which healthcare professionals or members of the public can report any suspected adverse reactions (side effects) associated with medicines and vaccines which have occurred in Ireland.

The HPRA strongly encourages reporting of suspected adverse reactions (side effects) associated with Covid-19 vaccines to support continuous monitoring of their safe and effective use. To report a suspected adverse reaction to the Covid-19 vaccine, please visit www.hpra.ie/report.

You can also ask your Doctor, or a family member to report this for you.

As much information as is known should be provided, and where possible, the vaccine batch number should be included.

The HPRA cannot provide clinical advice on individual cases. Members of the public should contact their healthcare professional (their Doctor or Pharmacist) with any medical concerns they may have.

No. The COVID-19 vaccines being used produce a protective immune, antibody, response which can be measured by serology blood tests. They do not affect a PCR swab test, which is the basis of diagnosing COVID-19 infection by detecting viral RNA in the nose and throat. They also do not affect the results of Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests. PCR tests will be used as part of the vaccine effectiveness assessment in those who are vaccinated and subsequently develop symptoms of COVID-19

Gluten is a family of proteins found in certain cereal grains. The COVID-19 vaccines currently available do not contain gluten.

We do not know yet if having the vaccine stops you spreading the COVID-19 virus to others. That is why it is important that we all continue to follow public health advice on how to stop the spread of the virus.

You still need to:

• follow social distancing guidelines (keep two metres apart from others where possible)
• wear a face covering
• wash your hands regularly

When a high proportion of a population receive an effective vaccine, it becomes difficult for the disease to spread, this gives protection to vulnerable people such as newborn babies and other people who cannot be vaccinated, which is known as herd immunity.

 It is not clear what proportion of people would be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 to achieve this because the vaccines against the disease are new and COVID-19 is a global pandemic infection. Therefore, the best protection you can have is to have the vaccination when you are invited to attend and to continue to follow measures to reduce spread like social distancing, hand and respiratory hygiene and face coverings where advised.