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Now that three coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines have been approved for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, many are wondering whether they will be able to choose which vaccine they receive. The expert consensus on this question is that people should not 鈥渟hop around鈥 and instead take the first vaccine that is offered to them.
鈥淚f someone has an opportunity to get vaccinated, do it as soon as possible,鈥 says Jennifer L. Lighter, MD, hospital epidemiologist at 嘿嘿视频 Health. 鈥淒o not wait or hesitate or vaccine shop. The more people we get vaccinated as soon as possible is extremely important. We鈥檙e in a race against the virus, right? It鈥檚 not just having the vaccine, it鈥檚 really getting it into people鈥檚 arms,鈥 she tells the TODAY show.
The Pfizer鈥揃ioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines showed an efficacy rate of around 95 percent. Johnson & Johnson/Janssen鈥檚 adenovirus vector vaccine was also approved, though the efficacy rates were slightly lower. However, since the vaccines were tested in different environments and are all equally effective at preventing death and hospitalizations, experts emphasize that people should get the first vaccine that is available to them.
It is possible that people may be able to choose which vaccine they receive at some point, but experts estimate that the country is at least several months away from this.
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