Are You Getting an Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine?

Why do some folks think that they are being given an experimental COVID-19 vaccine?

The usual suspects…

Are You Getting an Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine?

Although the COVID-19 vaccines are very new, unless you are getting your vaccine in a clinical trial, you can be reassured that you are not a guinea pig and that you are not getting an experimental vaccine.

Both the Pfizer (for those 16 years and above) and Moderna (for those 18 years and above) COVID-19 vaccines have completed phase III trials and have received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA and interim recommendations for use by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

If you sign up to get one of these vaccines from your health care provider or at a clinic, pharmacy, or mass immunization event, then you are not getting an experimental vaccine.

Still, it is possible to sign up and get an experimental COVID-19 vaccine…

“VXA-CoV2-1 is a non-replicating Ad5 vector adjuvanted oral tableted vaccine being developed to prevent COVID-19, the disease resulting from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The study is designed to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of VXA-CoV2-1 vaccine with repeat dosing at multiple dose levels. Safety and immunogenicity will be evaluated for up to 12 months after the second dose of VXA-CoV2-1.”

Safety and Immunogenicity Trial of an Oral SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (VXA-CoV2-1) for Prevention of COVID-19 in Healthy Adults

That’s because in addition to the COVID-19 vaccines that have already received EUA, many more are still in development.

And the few that have an EUA are still being studied in clinical trials to expand their age ranges for children and for some other indications.

Does the fact that COVID-19 vaccines will likely undergo phase 4 trials mean that these are experimental vaccines?

“Many vaccines undergo Phase IV formal, ongoing studies after the vaccine is approved and licensed.”

Vaccine Testing and the Approval Process

Of course not!

Many new vaccines undergo phase 4 clinical trials for ongoing surveillance and to confirm long term safety and efficacy.

So get your COVID-19 vaccine when it’s your turn and be confident that you aren’t getting an experimental vaccine.

If it isn’t yet your turn, then consider getting vaccinated in a clinical trial… In that case, you actually will be getting an experimental vaccine, but you will also be helping to make sure that it is safe and effective!

More on COVID-19 Vaccines

• I’m Not Anti-Vaccine, I Just Don’t Believe in the COVID-19 Vaccine
• COVID-19 Vaccination Questions and Answers
• The Truth About COVID-19 Vaccines
• COVID-19 Vaccines for Pregnant and Breastfeeding Moms
• Where Are the Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine Trials?
• Allergic Reactions to COVID-19 Vaccines
• Safety and Immunogenicity Trial of an Oral SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (VXA-CoV2-1) for Prevention of COVID-19 in Healthy Adults
• CDC – Ensuring the Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States
• CDC – COVID-19 Vaccine Basics: What Healthcare Personnel Need to Know
• CDC – Vaccine Testing and the Approval Process
• Should I Participate in a Clinical Trial? What’s in it for me?
• Vaccine Research Studies Frequently Asked Questions
• A Study to Evaluate the Safety, Reactogenicity, and Effectiveness of mRNA-1273 Vaccine in Adolescents 12 to <18 Years Old to Prevent COVID-19 (TeenCove)
• COVID-19 Vaccines International Pregnancy Exposure Registry (C-VIPER)
• International Registry of Coronavirus Exposure in Pregnancy (IRCEP)
• COVID-19 Vaccines are Here; Will People Take Them?
• A Nursing Researcher’s Experience in a COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
• Do You Want to Be a Vaccine Volunteer?
• Huge study of another COVID-19 vaccine gets underway
• Recruiting Now for Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Trial