What You Need to Know
There are many benefits of getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
- Prevents serious illness: COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are safe and effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and dying.
- A safer way to build protection: Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is a safer, more reliable way to build protection than getting sick with COVID-19.
- Offers added protection: COVID-19 vaccines can offer added protection to people who had COVID-19, including protection against being hospitalized from a new infection.
How to be best protected: As with vaccines for other diseases, people are best protected when they stay up to date.
COVID-19 Vaccines Protect Your Health
COVID 19-vaccines are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and dying. Vaccination remains the safest strategy for avoiding hospitalizations, long-term health outcomes, and death.
What You Can Do Now to Prevent Severe Illness, Hospitalization, and Death
Use Vaccines.gov – to find a COVID-19 vaccine near you.
CDC recommends everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines for their age group:
Severe Illness
mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing the most severe outcomes from a COVID-19 infection.
Myocarditis is a condition where the heart becomes inflamed in response to an infection or some other trigger. Myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination is rare. This study shows that patients with COVID-19 had nearly 16 times the risk for myocarditis compared with patients who did not have COVID-19.
Hospitalization
COVID-19 vaccines can help prevent you from becoming hospitalized if you do get infected with COVID-19.
Death
COVID-19 vaccines can help prevent you from dying if you do get infected with COVID-19.
COVID-19 Vaccination is a Safer, More Reliable Way to Build Protection
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is a safer, more reliable way to build protection than getting sick with COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccination helps protect people by creating an immune response without the potentially severe illness or post-COVID conditions that can be associated with COVID-19 infection.
Updated information from the CDC as of May 11, 2023