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What are your questions about the coronavirus vaccine?

ideastream's health team is answering as many questions as possible, with help from local experts in a range of fields. You can  send us your questions with our online form, through our social media  , or call us at  216-916-6476. We'll  keep the answers coming on our website and on the air.

Monica called ideastream to ask why she started getting COVID-19 symptoms after receiving the vaccine. Her symptoms lasted 6-7 days and included loss of taste and smell, runny nose, and teary eyes.

There鈥檚 no way the vaccine caused the symptoms Monica is experiencing, said Dr. Keith Armitage, an infectious disease specialist at University Hospitals.

鈥淵ou absolutely cannot get the virus from the vaccine,鈥� he said. 鈥淣one of the vaccines contain the virus.鈥�

The vaccines contain a small fragment of genetic material that allows the body to produce an immune response, but they don鈥檛 contain the rest of the genes of the virus, Armitage said.

鈥淣one of the vaccines contain anything close to a live coronavirus,鈥� he said.

Dr. David Margolius, division director of internal medicine at MetroHealth, agrees that there鈥檚 no way Monica caught COVID-19 from the vaccine.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 inside the vaccine are instructions to make a tiny, tiny part of the virus, which disintegrates after your immune system takes care of it,鈥� Margolius said. 

The vaccine doesn鈥檛 have a live virus in it that would cause those problems, he said.

What likely happened is that Monica was exposed to the virus before she was fully protected.

With the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, people can become infected up to twelve days after receiving the vaccine, Armitage said.

鈥淎round day 12 the protection really starts to kick in and after day 12 of the first shot, the risk of hospitalizations and death goes way down, as does the risk of infection,鈥� he said.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is different though, Armitage said.

In data presented to the FDA, the patient鈥檚 antibody levels increased for 56 days after receiving the Johnson & Johnson shot, he said.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just that the immune system needs its chance to spread the word," Margolius said. 

That means that a person will become more protected from COVID-19 overtime after receiving that brand of vaccine, Armitage said. 

There is some protection after the first two weeks of receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but the protection is much better after day 28.

Other listeners had similar questions about finding out they had COVID after getting the vaccine.

鈥淒o I need to reschedule another vaccine shot?鈥� Marcelo asked. 鈥淩ecently I was diagnosed with COVID-19 just three days after I received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.鈥�

No, he doesn鈥檛 need to get another shot, Armitage said.

Marcelo might have also been exposed to COVID-19 when he wasn鈥檛 fully protected, since he tested positive three days after, but it鈥檚 also possible he had a previous infection, Armitage said.

鈥淚f he contracted COVID before getting the shot, you can still test positive sometimes for several weeks because the test doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e actively infected. It means you鈥檝e probably had infection,鈥� he said.

鈥淚n other words, the molecular test for the virus stays positive in people even when they no longer have an infection.鈥�

Mitzie from Hartsville has been experiencing fatigue since receiving the first shot. She had COVID in October and wondered if the fatigue was from the shot.

It鈥檚 possible for people to have fever, chills, and fatigue after the shot, but it goes away after 24-48 hours, Margolius said.

So there鈥檚 no way Mitzie鈥檚 fatigue is caused by the shot, he said.

Dr. Armitage agreed, but he said there are early reports of people who have had COVID having a worse response to the first shot than the second.

鈥淧eople who have had COVID, their immune system is primed,鈥� he said.

That means the person has already started to develop an immune response to the virus, but it鈥檚 still important they get the vaccine, Armitage said.

The vaccine gives much better immunity than natural protection, he said.

It wouldn鈥檛 last more than 48 hours, so Mitzie鈥檚 long-term fatigue is likely not caused by the vaccine, he said.