COVID-19 Vaccinations

Vaccine SMART Card

On October 12, 2022 new, pediatric Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent boosters were endorsed by the CDC. Northern Light Health has preordered the new, pediatric vaccines and appointments for those age groups will be available once supplies arrive. We will update this website and share the news on social media as soon as appointments are available.

New Booster Eligibility

  • You must be two (2) months out from receiving your most recent COVID-19 booster, or from your primary vaccination series to receive either of the new bivalent boosters.
  • People 6 years of age and over are eligible for a single booster dose of the bivalent Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine.  
  • People 5 years of age and over are eligible for a single booster dose of the bivalent Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. 

 

Immediately, per the FDA
  • Monovalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are NO LONGER authorized for use as boosters in people ages 5 years and over. This means that if you have an appointment scheduled for a booster right now it will be canceled.
  • Booster appointments for people ages 5 – 11 will resume once the new, pediatric, bivalent COVID-19 vaccines have arrived and our prescribing software has been updated.

 




How mRNA Vaccines Work

Frequently Asked Questions

Vaccine Eligibility & Scheduling 

Who can get a COVID-19 booster shot right now?

In the state of Maine, the following people are currently eligible for booster doses/third doses of vaccine.

Age Initial Vaccine Series Time Elapsed Approve Booster Type
18 or over Moderna 6 or more months Any approved COVID-19 vaccine
18 or over Johnson and Johnson 2 or more months Any approved COVID-19 vaccine
18 or over Pfizer 5 or more months Any approved COVID-19 vaccine
12 -17 Pfizer 5 or more months Pfizer
Immunocompromised people, 5 -11 years Pfizer 5 or more months Pfizer

 

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This will vary based on where you schedule your vaccine. It is very important that you get both your initial shot and booster at location noted in the system to ensure timeliness and that you are getting the same vaccine.

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If you would like a specific vaccine, please ask if it is available when making your appointment.

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Yes, at this time we require appointments for vaccinations.

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No, however, the state of Maine is unable to cover the cost of administration of the vaccine at this time, because of this we need to bill your insurance provider to help staff the vaccination clinics. The vaccine itself is provided at no cost.

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Yes, masks are required in all healthcare facilities.

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Yes, the CDC recommends that all individuals receive a COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of history of COVID-19 infection. In the trials to approve the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the vaccine provided additional protection to participants with a history of COVID-19.

Per the CDC, persons with documented COVID-19 may choose to delay vaccination for up to 90 days post-infection if desired based on low probability of reinfection within this time period.

Individuals with current symptomatic COVID-19 infection should wait until symptoms resolve and quarantine period has ended before getting vaccinated.

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Due to current community spread and the increasing number of variants, this is not recommended.

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  • People 6 months and over can get either the Pfizer/BioNtach vaccine or the Moderna vaccine
  • People 5 and over can receive the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine
  • People 18 and over can receive the Moderna vaccine
  • At this time there is not information about availability of a vaccine for children under the age of 12

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Yes, it is recommended that pregnant individuals get vaccinated against COVID-19.
 
If you wish to have a further discussion with your healthcare team, please schedule an appointment to do so. This discussion should happen between you and your healthcare team and cannot be completed at a staff vaccination clinic.

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Yes. While lactating individuals were not included in most clinical trials, national organizations like American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology agree that the theoretical safety risk is low and the benefit high. It is not recommended that breastfeeding be discontinued in patients receiving the vaccine.

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Yes, the COVID-19 vaccine is safe for you to receive. If you have a compromised immune system the vaccine may be less effective, but it should not create additional side effects.

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No. People with a known anaphylactic reaction to any ingredient of the mRNA vaccine should NOT receive the vaccine at this time.

Ingredient List:

 

Pfizer Moderna
mRNA
Lipids
Polyethylene glycol
Potassium chloride
Potassium phosphate
Sodium phosphate
Sodium chloride
Sucrose
mRNA
Lipids
Polyethylene glycol
Tromethamine
Acetic acid
Sodium acetate
Sucrose

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Yes, the vaccine does not contain eggs or latex.

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Yes, when you arrive at the vaccination clinic, you should notify your vaccinator that you have a history of allergic reaction and to which vaccine or injectable product you have reacted to.

The CDC considers a history of allergic reaction to any other vaccine or injectable therapy a precaution, but not a contraindication, for COVID-19 vaccination. You should discuss with your pharmacist or primary care provider about the benefits and risks of vaccination.

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Yes, but you should wait until 90 days after receipt of the monoclonal antibody.

The CDC recommends deferring COVID-19 vaccination for 90 days after receipt of a monoclonal antibody product or convalescent plasma for the treatment of COVID-19.

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In most cases yes, Flu-like symptoms, including fever (even high fevers), chills, fatigue, and body aches are all signs that your immune system is reacting to the vaccine and creating protective antibodies.
 
  • If you experienced a severe allergic reaction to the first dose you should not receive the second dose.
  • If you experienced severe side-effects, resulting in hospitalization or emergency room treatment, you should consult with your provider before to receiving the second dose.

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Yes, there is no need to delay getting your COVID-19 vaccination.

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No, you should make every effort to get your second dose at the scheduled time, however if you miss your second dose you should reschedule your appointment as soon as possible. You will not need to repeat the first dose.

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Vaccine Clinical Questions

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine products use a messenger RNA (mRNA) delivery system. The mRNA is basically a recipe that tells your cells how to make a piece of the virus called the spike protein. Your immune system then uses these pieces of the virus to learn how to recognize it and remove it from the body. While this is new technology for making human vaccines, it has been studied since the 1990’s.
 

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COVID-19 vaccines are being tested in large clinical trials to assess their safety. However, it does take time, and more people getting vaccinated before we learn about very rare or long-term side effects. That is why safety monitoring will continue.

The CDC has an independent group of experts that reviews all the safety data as it comes in and provides regular safety updates. If a safety issue is detected, immediate action will take place to determine if the issue is related to the COVID-19 vaccine and determine the best course of action.

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Northern Light Health has a standard and independent review process to evaluate any new medicine, vaccine, or biologic therapeutic agent. The Northern Light Health Formulary Management Oversight Committee (FMOC), made up of Pharmacy leadership from all member organizations, infectious disease pharmacists, physicians, and subject matter experts have reviewed the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine by each manufacturer carefully.

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No, there is absolutely no actual virus in the vaccine and thus you cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine or transmit COVID-19 to anyone else as a result of being vaccinated.

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At this time, there are no reports of increased incidence of allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine relative to other vaccinations. You should not receive the vaccine if you are allergic to any of its components. If you think you may have an allergy to any vaccine components, please tell staff at the vaccine clinics and they can help you identify if it is safe for you to receive the vaccine. 

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No, the vaccine cannot affect your DNA. The vaccine contains mRNA encoding a single protein found in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. mRNA is a copy of your DNA that contains information that tells your cells how to build proteins. The vaccine cannot affect your DNA because:
  1. Humans lack the ability to turn mRNA back into DNA or incorporate mRNA into DNA
  2. Your DNA is stored inside the nucleus of your cell, and the mRNA in the vaccine is not able to interact with it
  3. Finally, the mRNA present in the vaccine that is put into your cells breaks down quickly – typically within a few hours to a couple of days.

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No, there is no evidence to suggest the vaccine will have any impact on fertility. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines which cause your immune system to make antibodies against a protein found in the SARS-CoV-2 virus (see section How do the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines work?

Concerns have been circulating on social media about a placental protein sharing a gene sequence with the protein that the vaccine helps you make antibodies against. Antibody binding is complex, and it would be extremely unlikely that antibodies you make from the vaccine would bind to a placental protein just based on one shared sequence. If this did happen, it would also be expected with natural infection as well (since the vaccine helps you make the same antibodies as you would in natural infection) and this has not been observed.

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No, neither the Pfizer-BioNTech nor Moderna COVID-19 vaccine utilize fetal cell lines in the manufacturing process for either of these vaccines and are listed as ethically uncontroversial by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a prominent pro-life organization.

Fetal cell lines are commonly used in research and were obtained from aborted fetuses in the 1970s and 1980s. In all cases, no new fetal tissue is required to utilize any of these cell lines. In the early phases of vaccine development (preclinical testing in animals) both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna used one fetal cell line called HEK293 that originated from fetal kidney cells in the 1970s. Use of these fetal cell lines never requires harvesting of new fetal tissue.

Some vaccines in development for COVID-19 do utilize fetal cells lines for manufacturing and development and there are several resources available to help you address ethical concerns. A list of COVID vaccines in development and details regarding the use of fetal cell lines can be found: here
 

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We recommend visiting the CDC website at CDC.gov for more information about the COVID-19 vaccines.

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None of the 3 vaccines contain fetal tissue, per data presented in the CLI document regarding the 3 vaccines currently licensed in the USA, which appears accurate and consistent with other independent sources. Neither of the RNA vaccines are derived from aborted fetal cell lines, or use fetal cell lines in any phase of manufacture,  though a cell line derived from either a spontaneous or elective abortion in 1973 was used early in the research phase of these vaccines to evaluate efficacy. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine does use an adenovirus-infected fetal cell line derived from an elective abortion in 1985 in the manufacturing process.

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Now That I'm Vaccinated

People who do not receive the vaccine will continue to be at risk of COVID-19 and it’s more severe symptoms and long-term effects. If most people get the vaccine, we can put an end to many of the challenges we have faced for the past year much more quickly (overcrowding of hospitals, physical distancing, increased health risks for members of our communities who are older and have pre-existing conditions, among others).

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The federal and state CDCs have recently updated masking guidelines for those who have been fully vaccinated, click here to learn more. Please remember that face masks are still required in healthcare facilities by all – regardless of vaccination status.

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The mRNA vaccines are not interchangeable and have not been studied in combination. The safety and efficacy of mixed-product series has not been evaluated. However, the CDC recommends that if different vaccine products are inadvertently administered, no additional doses of either product are recommended.

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