Updated 11/01/2022
From the start, Alivio has been helping our patients and community fight the pandemic with testing, resources and education, and vaccines!
For information on vaccination sites, hours and how to schedule, please click here.
Anyone aged 6 months or older should receive the vaccine.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to prevent COVID-19 are now available for children 6 months to 5 years old. The Pfizer vaccine is available for children 6 months to 4 years and is split into three doses. The 2nd dose is administered 3 weeks after 1st dose and the 3rd dose is administered 8 weeks after the 2nd dose. The Moderna vaccine is available for children 6 months to 5 years of age. The 2nd dose is administered -4 weeks after the 1st dose.
The Pfizer vaccine is available for everyone 5-11 years and older. The 2nd dose is administered 21 days after the first. A booster is recommended five months after the 2nd dose.
A bivalent vaccine is designed to protect against two different strains of a virus. The new bivalent versions of the COVID-19 vaccine will offer protection against both the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 as well as the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 strain, which is now the predominant variant of the virus around the world.
Who is eligible to receive a single booster dose and when:
The vaccine itself is free, at no cost to you. If you are insured, Alivio will bill the insurance for an administering fee. But you will never receive a bill.
*We highly recommend that you keep your 2nd dose appointment as the 1st does provides 50% protection. Your protection can be as high as 94% a couple of weeks after your 2nd dose.
Moderna and Pfizer:
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines use mRNA to train the body to respond to the COVID virus without using any live virus. The mRNA used in these vaccines is code for a protein that is specific to the COVID-19 virus but does not cause any harm to you. The vaccine is about 95% effective at preventing illness from COVID-19 2 weeks following the shot.
The Vaccine is Safe
The safety of you and your family members are a priority for Alivio Medical Center and we recommend taking the vaccine as soon as it becomes available to you. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has worked closely with the pharmaceutical companies to ensure the vaccine is safe and effective for protecting adults. Safety is a top priority and no steps are skipped during the clinical trial process for COVID-19 vaccine. If a link is found between a side effect and a COVID-19 vaccine, public health officials will take appropriate action by weighing the benefits of the vaccine against its risks to determine if recommendations for using the vaccine should change and continuously monitor and evaluate safety thereafter. As a participating vaccine provider, Alivio will be notified of any safety issues immediately.
CDC has recommended that women who are pregnant can get vaccinated for COVID-19. Though there are not completed studies on COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy, there are no known risks from the vaccines to pregnant people. However, pregnant people who get infected with COVID-19 are at risk for more severe illness, such as ICU admission, being on life support, or death. Alivio recommends that pregnant people talk to their doctor about getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
There are side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine. This is normal, and a sign your body is building immunity. To increase your protection, it is important to get both doses of the vaccine. The most common side effects are fever, chills, tiredness, or headache. At the injection site, you may experience pain, redness or swelling. Although these side effects may be unpleasant for 1-3 days, they are not dangerous. People with history of significant allergic reactions to vaccines, food, or medicine should consult with their doctor before receiving the vaccine.
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 and learning how to fight the vaccine. It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity after vaccination. That means it is possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.
Many of Alivio’s communities have not had the luxury of staying home throughout the pandemic. Working from home is near to impossible for employees of the agricultural and service sectors, manufacturing, food and hospitality industries. The people working in essential roles are often those at highest risk for the worst negative outcomes of this disease. We are strongly advocating for vaccination of our communities and are here to provide education, science based information, support and resources so that you can receive the vaccine. In fact, the majority of Alivio’s staff has vaccinated with confidence and strongly recommends you do too!
Please see the following fact sheet to learn more about the benefits, safety and importance of the Covid-19 vaccine:
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