Center for Disability Leadership

Partnership for People with Disabilities

FACT SHEET: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AFTER YOU GET THE COVID-19 VACCINE

 

This fact sheet was updated on May 13, 2021. It is based on information that was

available at that time. This information might change in the future.

 

COVID-19 is an illness caused by a new coronavirus. You can get very sick from COVID-19.

It can make it hard for you to breathe.

 

There are vaccines to help your body fight COVID-19. A vaccine is a shot in the arm. This fact sheet will help you understand how to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

 

You might not feel well for a few days after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. You might feel tired, have sore muscles, or have a mild fever. This is good. It means that the COVID-19 vaccine is working.

 

You can report how you are feeling through an application called v-safe.

Learn more about v-safe on this website. Call your doctor if you have questions.

 

Some people may have severe side-effects after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. An example is having trouble breathing. This is very rare. If this happens, tell somebody and call 911 or go to the emergency room.

 

Some COVID-19 vaccines require you to get a second dose. The timing of the second

dose depends on which vaccine you got. The second dose makes the COVID-19 vaccine

work better.

 

Two weeks after your final vaccine dose, you can stop wearing a mask if you:

  • Do not have a weak immune system.
  • Do not have symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Are not in a place that requires a mask.

 

If you have a weak immune system, ask your doctor if you need to keep wearing a mask.

 

Virginia Board for People with Disabilities

The Arc Virginia

VCU School of Education

Partnership for People With Disabilities

 

Funding for this product was supported, in part, by the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities, under grant number 2001VASCDD-01, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201.

 

Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.