COVID-19 Vaccine Update

Baylor Scott & White is now vaccinating all Texans age 6 months and older. You can schedule an appointment through our digital portal, MyBSWHealth.com, on the app, or by calling the vaccine line at 1.844.BSW.VACC (1.844.279.8222) in line with state and federal guidance on vaccine eligibility criteria.

• Download the MyBSWHealth app
• OR visit MyBSWHealth.com

A parent or legal guardian must be present at the time of registration, vaccination and observation for those under the age of 18.

 You can find more information on variants of the virus on the CDC website.

Individuals ages 5 and older are eligible for a booster. To learn more about dosing and timing, view our vaccine resource guide or visit the CDC.

At this time, we are receiving allocations of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

The Food and Drug Administration and CDC recently approved the two-dose COVID-19 Novavax vaccine for adults 18 and older. The new vaccine will be available to the public outside of Baylor Scott & White. At this time, we will continue administering the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, which have proven highly effective against severe COVID-19 illness.

We currently do not have a supply of the J&J vaccine.

The community can help slow the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask, washing their hands often and practicing physical distancing.

You can log in to your MyBSWHealth account, download the app or visit MyBSWHealth.com to help keep you informed on vaccine availability. Your MyBSWHealth account can help you get virtual care for a variety of health needs. You can also schedule a same-day appointment or begin an eVisit through the app.

MyBSWHealth now allows eligible Texans to self-schedule your vaccine appointment.

We use MyBSWHealth to securely collect relevant information, assess eligibility and schedule vaccination appointments. The account with MyBSWHealth also serves as the foundation for our electronic medical record to document immunizations.

Those who do not have access to a computer or smartphone to create a MyBSWHealth account should call 1.844.BSW.VACC (1.844.279.8222).

The CDC issued new guidance that vaccine doses can be given up to six weeks apart. For Texans receiving the vaccine through Baylor Scott & White, all second doses will be administered within the clinically recommended six-week window, and as close as possible to the 21-day (Pfizer) or 28-day (Moderna) guidance.

An 8-week interval may be optimal for some people age 12 years and older, especially for males age 12 to 39 years. A shorter interval (three weeks for Pfizer-BioNTech; four weeks for Moderna) between the first and second doses remains the recommended interval for: people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised; adults age 65 years and older; and others who need rapid protection due to increased concern about community transmission or risk of severe disease.

If you are not able to keep your appointment time, please call 1.844.BSW.VACC (1.844.279.8222).

For those who do not have access to a computer or smartphone, they can call 1.844.BSW.VACC (1.844.279.8222) to get assistance.

There is no out-of-pocket cost for the COVID-19 vaccine or its administration.

You can access and print your immunization record, including the lot number, through MyBSWHealth.com. Please click here for additional steps.

The COVID-19 Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are now eligible for those 6 months of age and older. The Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine is authorized in those ages 18 and older.

Additionally, the Novavax vaccine is authorized in those 18 and older.

Dosing and timelines differ by age.

For more information, view our vaccine resource guide. You can also visit the CDC.

In Texas, all individuals (6 months of age and older) are now eligible to be vaccinated.

Yes. We are vaccinating all Texans 6 months of age and older.

You can download the app or visit MyBSWHealth.com or call 1.844.BSW.VACC (1.844.279.8222"). Some of our sites are also accepting walk-ins. Please note that a parent or legal guardian must be present at the time of registration, vaccination and observation for those under the age of 18.

Your MyBSWHealth account can also help you get virtual care for a variety of health needs. You can also schedule a same-day appointment or begin an eVisit through the app.

Yes. People who have gotten sick with COVID-19 may still benefit from getting vaccinated. Due to the severe health risks associated with COVID-19, and the fact that re-infection with COVID-19 is possible, people may be advised to get a COVID-19 vaccine even if they have been sick with COVID-19 before. However, if you have active symptoms of COVID-19, it is not recommended you get the vaccine until you are no longer symptomatic. In addition, if you have received convalescent plasma or monoclonal antibodies as part of a positive COVID-19 treatment, it is recommended you wait 90 days to receive the vaccine.

We are receiving allocations of Pfizer and Moderna, but cannot guarantee a particular vaccine’s availability at a particular site, as the state determines where vaccines are distributed. Please continue to check our website and your MyBSWHealth account for the latest updates.

At this time, we do not have supplies of the J&J or Novavax vaccines.

Yes. If you received the first dose of a two-dose vaccine from one manufacturer (Pfizer or Moderna), you must receive the second dose from the same manufacturer.

The protection someone gains from having an infection (called “natural immunity”) varies depending on the disease, and it varies from person to person. Because this virus is new, we don’t know how long natural immunity might last. Current evidence suggests that getting the virus again (reinfection) is uncommon in the 90 days after the first infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.

We won’t know how long immunity lasts after vaccination until we have more data on how well COVID-19 vaccines work in real-world conditions.

Experts are working to learn more about both natural immunity and vaccine-induced immunity. CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.

Yes. Not enough information is currently available to say if or when CDC will stop recommending that people wear masks and avoid close contact with others to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Experts need to understand more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide in real-world conditions before making that decision. Other factors, including how many people get vaccinated and how the virus is spreading in communities, will also affect this decision. We also don’t yet know whether getting a COVID-19 vaccine will prevent you from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 to other people, even if you don’t get sick yourself.

While experts learn more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide under real-life conditions, it will be important for everyone to continue:

• Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth
• Staying at least 6 feet away from others
• Avoiding crowds
• Avoiding poorly ventilated spaces
• Washing your hands often

Yes, COVID-19 vaccines and other immunizations may now be administered without regard to timing. This includes simultaneous administration of COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines on the same day, as well a co-administration within 14 days.

Approving safe vaccines and making sure they work is up to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC Advisory Committee and other groups look at available information about a vaccine and make informed decisions about the risks and benefits of using it. We also have an internal team of experts who review available data before we recommend it.

No. None of the authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines or COVID-19 vaccines currently in development in the United States contain the live virus that causes COVID-19. This means that a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19.

There are several different types of vaccines in development. All of them teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Sometimes this process can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal and are a sign that the body is building protection against the virus that causes COVID-19. Learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work.

It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity (protection against the virus that causes COVID-19) after vaccination. That means it’s possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and still get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.

No. COVID-19 vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way.

The vaccines teach our cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response. They cannot affect or interact with our DNA in any way. Instead, COVID-19 vaccines work with the body’s natural defenses to safely develop immunity to disease. Learn more about how COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, viral vector and the Novavax vaccines work.

The Food and Drug Administration and Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices review the safety data for vaccines. We also have an internal team of experts who review available data. We will have more details and data to share as specific vaccine information is published.

Side effects that have been reported with the vaccines include:

• Injection site pain
• Tiredness
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Chills
• Joint pain
• Fever
• Injection site swelling
• Injection site redness
• Nausea
• Feeling unwell
• Swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy)

There is a remote chance the COVID-19 vaccine could cause a severe allergic reaction. A severe allergic reaction would usually occur within a few minutes to one hour after getting a dose of the vaccine. Signs of a severe allergic reaction can include difficulty breathing, swelling of your face and throat, a fast heartbeat, a bad rash all over your body, dizziness and weakness.

For information on adverse reactions, please review the FDA fact sheets for the Moderna vaccine and/or the Pfizer vaccine.

Special note: On April 24, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration recommended resuming use of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for persons 18 years of age and older in the U.S., as the benefits outweigh the risks. However, based on guidance from the CDC and FDA, women under the age of 50 should be aware of this rare adverse event and know that there are other COVID-19 vaccine options available for which this risk has not been seen.

According to the CDC, there is a plausible causal relationship between J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and a rare and serious adverse event—blood clots with low platelets (thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS).

This adverse event is rare, occurring at a rate of about seven per 1 million vaccinated women between 18 and 49 years old. For women 50 years and older and men of all ages, this adverse event is even more rare.

For three weeks after receiving the vaccine, you should be on the lookout for possible symptoms of a blood clot with low platelets. These include:

• Severe or persistent headaches or blurred vision
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Leg swelling
• Persistent abdominal pain
• Easy bruising or tiny blood spots under the skin beyond the injection site

Seek medical care right away if you develop one or more of these symptoms and inform your provider if you have received the J&J COVID 19 vaccine and the date. As with any vaccine, if you experience an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital.

For information on adverse reactions, please review the FDA fact sheets for the Moderna vaccine, Pfizer vaccine, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax vaccines.

Possibly. However, if you have had severe reactions in the past to IV medications or vaccines, you will need to be observed for 30 minutes post-vaccination. If you are receiving a two-dose vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna), the second dose is not recommended if you have a severe allergic reaction to the first dose. If you have an immediate allergic reaction to the first dose, we recommend you speak with your physician before proceeding with the second dose.

According to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, pregnant and breastfeeding women are not excluded from receiving the vaccine, but they should consult their physician prior to being vaccinated.

None of the COVID-19 vaccines currently in development in the United States use the live virus that causes COVID-19. There are several different types of vaccines in development. However, the goal for each of them is to teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Sometimes this process can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal and are a sign that the body is building immunity. Learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work.

Yes. The FDA and the CDC have determined that the known and potential benefits of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in individuals 6 months of age and older outweigh the known and potential risks, supporting the vaccine’s use in kids.

The pediatric vaccines are a smaller dosage. For more information, view our vaccine resource guide. You can also visit the CDC.

Dosing depends on your age and vaccine brand. To learn more, visit the CDC website.

According to the CDC, there is a plausible causal relationship between J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and a rare and serious adverse event—blood clots with low platelets (thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS). However, after reviewing all available safety data, the CDC and FDA recommend use of this vaccine resume given that the known and potential benefits outweigh the known and potential risks.

This adverse event is rare, occurring at a rate of about 7 per 1 million vaccinated women between 18 and 49 years old. For women 50 years and older and men of all ages, this adverse event is even more rare.

For three weeks after receiving the vaccine, you should be on the lookout for possible symptoms of a blood clot with low platelets. These include:

Seek medical care right away if you develop one or more of these symptoms and inform your provider if you have received the J&J COVID 19 vaccine and the date. As with any vaccine, if you experience an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital.

Be sure to review the revised fact sheet.

After a thorough review of all available data, the CDC, FDA and ACIP overwhelmingly agreed that the benefits of the J&J vaccine far outweigh the risks for those recommended to receive it.

The pause allowed the CDC to communicate with healthcare providers and re-emphasize the importance of reporting severe events in people who have received this vaccine, as well as how to report such events. The pause also gave experts time to carefully review all available data and conduct a risk-benefit analysis around the use of this vaccine.

Detecting these rare adverse events tells us that the systems in place to monitor the safety of these vaccines are working.

No. According to the CDC, there are no known safety issues with the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines after more than 210 million doses administered as of April 23, 2021.

For most people, getting the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible is the safest choice. The information in this section will help you make an informed choice about whether to get the vaccine while you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant.

COVID-19 seems to cause more harm in pregnant women than in women of the same age who are not pregnant. The risks of getting a COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy are thought to be small but are not totally known.

You should consider your own personal risk of getting COVID-19. If your personal risk is high, or there are many cases of COVID-19 in your community, it probably makes sense for you to get the vaccine while pregnant. But whether to get the vaccine during pregnancy is your choice.

COVID-19 is dangerous. It is more dangerous for pregnant women as COVID-19 patients who are pregnant are three times more likely to end up in the intensive care unit (ICU), three times more likely to be on a ventilator and at increased risk of dying due to COVID-19. There is an increased risk of stillbirth and preterm birth.

The COVID-19 vaccine will prevent the vast majority of COVID-19 infections. As COVID-19 infections go up in our communities, your risk of getting COVID-19 goes up too.

The COVID-19 vaccine has no live virus. The COVID-19 vaccine does NOT contain ingredients that are known to be harmful to pregnant women or to the fetus. Many vaccines are routinely given during pregnancy and are safe (for example: tetanus, diphtheria and flu).

A study published recently in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology shows the vaccines are not only safe and effective for pregnant and breastfeeding women, but they may also offer some protection for their babies.

When researchers compared the antibody levels to those of women who had been sick with COVID-19 during pregnancy, the antibody levels in response to the vaccine were higher.

But perhaps the most exciting discovery: Antibodies were also found in umbilical cord blood and breast milk.

COVID-19 is very dangerous and can spread very easily. Because of this, the vaccine is recommended for those pregnant and breastfeeding and those trying to conceive (including those undergoing fertility treatment).

• The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine strongly recommends that pregnant individuals have access to COVID-19 vaccines. They recommend that each person have a discussion with their healthcare professional about their own personal choice.
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that the COVID-19 vaccine should not be withheld from pregnant individuals who meet criteria for vaccination.
• Because there are no studies of pregnant women yet, there are no clear recommendations for pregnant women. This is standard for any new drug and not due to any particular concern with COVID-19 vaccines.
• The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology shows the vaccines are not only safe and effective for pregnant and breastfeeding women, but they may also offer some protection for their babies.

The COVID-19 vaccine has not yet been tested in pregnant women. Together, the vaccines were tested in over 70,000 people and there were no serious side effects. Although they were not tested in pregnant women, some who received a vaccine in the clinical trials did get pregnant. There have been no reports of any problems with these pregnancies, and they are continuing to be monitored.

We do not have data on whether the vaccines work as well in pregnancy as it did in the study of non-pregnant individuals. Be aware that people getting the vaccine will probably have some side effects. Although there were no serious side effects reported, many people had some side effects within three days of getting a vaccine, including injection site reactions like sore arm, fatigue, headache, chills and fever.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using acetaminophen during pregnancy if you have a fever (temperature > 100.8). This medication is safe to use during pregnancy and does not affect how the vaccine works.

Make sure you understand as much as you can about COVID-19 and about the vaccine. Ask a trusted source, like your doctor. Also, think about your own personal risk of getting sick from COVID-19. If you are at a higher risk of getting COVID-19, it probably makes sense to get the vaccine.

The Academy for Breastfeeding Medicine reports that there is no reason to believe that the vaccine affects the safety of breast milk. When we have an infection or get a vaccine, our bodies make antibodies to fight the infection. Antibodies formed from vaccines given during pregnancy do pass into the breast milk and then to the baby to help prevent infections. Since the vaccine does not contain the virus, there is no risk of breast milk containing the virus.

Experts recommend patients who are planning to conceive or undergoing fertility treatment should be offered a vaccine based on CDC eligibility criteria. Since the vaccine is not a live virus, there is no reason to delay pregnancy attempts because of vaccination administration or to defer treatment until the second dose has been administered.