COVID-19
Resource Center

People who are 12 and older and received a second dose of the either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines 5 months ago or more should receive a booster shot. Anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least 2 months ago should also receive a booster. 

Once you are eligible for a booster shot, no matter which vaccine you got originally, your booster can be the vaccine type of your choice: Pfizer or Moderna.

You can you can walk in to the COVID Resource Center, register with the Vermont Department of Health's COVID-19 portal, or schedule an appointment at several Vermont pharmacies. Visit the pharmacy website for details.

You can get the booster as soon as your symptoms resolve. 

Testing is an important tool to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Anyone can get tested for COVID-19, including visitors to Vermont and international travelers. People with or without symptoms can be tested at most testing locations. Testing is free to all, and many sites now let you take your own sample using a short swab in your nose. You can either make an appointment or walk in.

The Vermont Department of Health recommends testing: 

• You have symptoms of COVID-19, even after vaccination.
• You have been informed that you are a close contact (within 6 feet for a total of at least 15 minutes) of someone with a confirmed case of COVID, even after vaccination.
• You took part in activities that put you at higher risk, like travel, big gatherings, or crowded indoor settings. 
• You intend to travel or gather and need a negative test in advance.
• Note that if you have tested positive in the past 90 days, you may test positive, even after you have recovered without having been reinfected.

• If you have symptoms, get tested immediately. 
• If you do not have symptoms, wait to get tested until you have symptoms or 2 – 5 days after an exposure to a symptomatic person or to someone who tested positive. Some schools require students to get a negative test 7 days after an exposure.

• Tests are available at the former Southern Vermont College Campus at 982 Mansion Drive, Bennington. See the top of this page for current hours. The consent form is available here to fill out and print in advance.
• Additional locations in Vermont are located on the Vermont Department of Health webpage.

Tests are free to patients. If you have insurance, it may be billed. If you don’t have insurance, no worries. You will not receive a bill.

SVMC is proud to offer most results to patients via text within 24 - 36 hours. Detailed instructions for the different ways to obtain your test results appear here. 

If you are unvaccinated, follow these instructions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and any directions you receive from the organization administering the test. If you are vaccinated, you do not have to quarantine while you wait for your test results, but you should use caution around other people, especially those who are unvaccinated or vulnerable to a serious case of COVID-19.

Follow these instructions.

Those 5 and older can register here. Those without access to the Internet may call 855-722-7878. Note that this timeline could change. We will use this website, our professional networks, medical practices, local media, social media, our e-newsletter, and other means to notify people how and when they can get their vaccine.  

None of the COVID-19 vaccines currently in development in the United States use the live virus. Instead, they use just a small piece of the virus, either a protein or genetic material, to teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight it. The small piece of the virus used cannot multiply in the way necessary to make us sick.

The Pfizer BioNTech COVID Vaccine includes mRNA, lipids ((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate), 2 [(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide, 1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3- phosphocholine, and cholesterol), potassium chloride, monobasic potassium phosphate, sodium chloride, dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate, and sucrose. See the complete fact sheet here.

The Moderna COVID Vaccine includes messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), lipids (SM-102, polyethylene glycol [PEG] 2000 dimyristoyl glycerol [DMG], cholesterol, and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine [DSPC]), tromethamine, tromethamine hydrochloride, acetic acid, sodium acetate, and sucrose. See the complete fact sheet here.

In an emergency, like a pandemic, the FDA can issue an emergency use authorization, or EUA, to provide faster access to medicines and tests that may help. They can do this only during an emergency and only when there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives. EUAs have been used to make COVID tests available to the public, and soon, we expect a few vaccines will be made available in this way. While less data is needed to get a EUA than FDA approval, it still takes tons of data. The benefit is that an EUA takes weeks, rather than months or years. EUAs are continuously evaluated and can be revoked if (a) the emergency ends, (b) the product is found to be unfit, or (c) the product is officially approved, cleared, or licensed by the FDA.

No. A small percentage of people who received the vaccine will get fatigue, soreness, inflammation, or headache. While these symptoms are similar to those experienced by those with COVID, they are a result of the vaccine teaching your body to respond to the virus, if it enters your body. These reactions have universally resolve in a short amount of time, usually less than one day.  It does take about 2 weeks for the vaccine to provide immunity. A person could encounter the virus and become infected just before or just after receiving the vaccine, before the protection takes effect, which could lead to someone thinking that the vaccine had made them ill.

All but one of the vaccines in Phase III clinical trials requires two shots. The first shot starts building protection. A second shot, a few weeks later, is needed to get the most protection. Think of it as a one-two punch.

Allergic reactions to the vaccine are very rare. If you have never had a reaction to another vaccine, you should not expect to have a reaction to this one. Complete information is available here. 

There are many considerations that will help determine if we can quit wearing masks, get together with friends, and travel again. It is best to look to the experts at the Vermont Department of Health or your state’s department of health. Continuing a (maybe slightly loosened) set of precautions will help ensure our entire community is protected before we relax. And remember, you’re never fully protected and the best protection you can get from the vaccine will be  after your second shot.