Mar 9, 2021 4 min read

With a third COVID-19 vaccine now available in Southwestern Pennsylvania, local doctors say eligible people shouldn’t be picky about which one they receive.

“All three vaccines are excellent, with close to 100% protection against very serious disease requiring admission to the hospital and deaths, so I don’t prefer one vaccine over the other,” said Dr. Atif Saeed, an infectious disease doctor with Washington Health System.

Margaret (Peggy) Brown, pharmacy director at Monongahela Valley Hospital, agreed, saying, “If someone calls (to schedule a vaccine appointment), no matter what the vaccine is, you should take it.”

Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine recently received emergency use authorization, joining the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as the United States undergoes the largest vaccination campaign in history.

Saeed and Brown addressed questions about the vaccines’ safety, efficacy, and availability during a recent Ask the Experts webinar hosted by the Peters Township, Greene County, Greater Canonsburg and Mon Area chambers of commerce, along with Mon Valley Hospital and WHS.

As for availability, Brown said the federal government’s projection that all Americans who want the vaccine should be able to get it by the end of May is realistic – especially now that three vaccines are on the market.

“That’s a very viable timeline,” said Brown.

Currently, Mon Valley Hospital has administered more than 5,000 vaccines, while WHS has handled more than 18,000 vaccinations.

Both health systems are capable of handling more vaccinations, but supply has not yet been able to meet demand.

Saeed expects that to change, though.

“There is a long line of people who qualify for the vaccine, and there’s a limited supply of the vaccine … things are only going to get better from this point on; we have three vaccines now,” said Saeed.

The two also addressed safety concerns, and Brown noted the vaccines went through a rigorous FDA process for approval.

Mild side effects, Brown said, “are the body’s natural way of building immunity,” and most subside within 24 hours.

Additionally, Saeed advised people who have already gotten COVID will have natural immunity for about 90 days, and will still need a vaccine after that.

Saeed and Brown said studies are ongoing to determine how long immunity lasts after a person is vaccinated, but, noted Brown, it will provide immunity “longer than the natural immunity you would have from getting the COVID disease.”

And, Saeed said, the sooner people get vaccinated and the population reaches herd immunity, the sooner communities can return to “normal.”

“Things are getting better; we need to achieve herd immunity, and the number for that, the magical number would be 80 to 90% – some say 70 to 90% – so the more people who are immune against the virus, by virtue of infection or vaccination, the less the chances of propagation. So the sooner we achieve that number, the sooner we will get back to relative normalcy.”

And, even after someone receives the vaccine, they should wear a face mask and follow all recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Saeed said.

Saeed also underscored how devastating COVID-19 has been, locally and worldwide.

As of Monday, there were more than 116 million cases worldwide, with nearly 2.6 million deaths; in the United States, more than 525,000 people have died, including more than 24,000 Pennsylvanians.

“And don’t forget this disease is producing a lot of chronic symptoms in people,” Saeed said, pointing out long haulers dealing with chronic fatigue, neurologic, vascular and kidney problems, and clotting disorders and strokes. “They are not counted in the death number, but they’re still sick from this disease. So, it’s not like your typical flu, which comes and goes and you recover. This one is slightly different. It’s more contagious, it’s more deadly.”

While the overall mortality rate is under 2%, Saeed said, “this is still 10 times more deadly (than the flu).”

“We have a less than perfect vaccine for flu and we take that shot every year,” said Saeed, encouraging people to get the vaccine when it’s available. “(COVID-19) is a far deadlier disease, with a much more effective vaccine available, and not just one vaccine, but multiple. If we get to that level of herd immunity faster, we can get back to that normalcy that we desire. We have to do our part in preventing the illness in the community and our families so we get back to that normalcy.”