If you have a Patient Online Services account, you will receive a notification through the portal. Patients without an account will be notified by letter.

If you have already received a COVID-19 vaccine or are getting vaccinated through another provider, please disregard eligibility and scheduling information sent to you by Mayo Clinic Health System. No response or action is required.

You must have an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The most convenient way to schedule an appointment is through Patient Online Services. Get more information about scheduling through Patient Online Services: Print | Video

Do not schedule an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination if:

• You are in quarantine from a recent COVID-19 exposure. You can schedule your vaccination once you are no longer in quarantine.
• You are in isolation from a recent COVID-19 infection or a positive COVID-19 test. We recommend waiting 90 days from the date of a COVID-19 diagnosis to schedule an appointment to receive your vaccine. This is because you are at lower risk for infection than others.
• You received convalescent plasma or monoclonal antibody in the last 90 days.

For your vaccination appointments:

• Bring your insurance card* with you to your appointment.
• Arrive on time (no more than five minutes early).
• Wear a mask.
• Expect your appointment to last 10 to 15 minutes.
• Schedule an appointment for your second dose of vaccine before leaving.

*The COVID-19 vaccine will be free. However, vaccine administration charges will be billed to insurance. We anticipate that the fee for vaccine administration will be covered by the payer at 100% and patients will not be billed for any unpaid charges. Patients and staff will need to bring their insurance card when they receive the vaccine.

After your first vaccination appointment:

• Continue to wear a mask, stay 6 feet apart from other people and wash your hands often.
• Schedule an appointment to receive your second dose of vaccine if you have not already done so.
• Monitor yourself for possible side effects, such as pain, redness or swelling where the shot was given; fever; fatigue; headache; muscle pain; chills; or joint pain.
  • If you have a reaction, take some time to rest and allow your body to recover. Stay home if you have a fever.
  • Having reactions to the vaccine does not mean you have COVID-19. It is not necessary to have a COVID-19 test or to quarantine.
  • If you have reactions that prevent you from eating, sleeping or going to work, contact your health care provider. Also contact your health care provider if you have reactions that last longer than three days.
  • Signs of an allergic reaction include hives, swelling of the face and throat, difficulty breathing, a fast heartbeat, dizziness, and weakness. If you have any of these signs, call 911 or have someone drive you to the nearest Emergency Department.

Some community members in the following Phase 1a groups may be directed to a Mayo Clinic Health System location to receive a vaccine. These vaccinations are coordinated by local health departments and are not available by contacting Mayo Clinic Health System in Southwest Minnesota:

• Health care workers and long-term care facility staff:
  Your employer will contact you if you are to receive a vaccine as part of Minnesota's distribution to Phase 1 patients. If you are a resident at a long-term care facility, you will be informed by your facility's staff about vaccinations.
• Long term care facility residents:
  If you are a resident at a long-term care facility, you will be informed by your facility's staff about vaccinations.

Read more about who's getting vaccinated on mn.gov.

If you are a Mayo Clinic Health System patient, you will be contacted when you’re eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. To receive eligibility information faster, set up a Patient Online Services account:

• Go to Patient Online Services
• Click “Create your account.”
• If you need help creating your account, call 1-877-858-0398, weekdays from 7 a.m.–7 p.m. CT.

If you are not a Mayo Clinic Health System patient, visit Minnesota's website on community vaccination.

Vaccination will be recommended for everyone, but supplies will be limited at first. Federal and state authorities call for health care personnel to be offered vaccine in the first phase of the program, starting with hospital workers, emergency responders and long-term care staff.

The initial priority will be to vaccinate health care personnel who are at high occupational risk for exposure to COVID-19 and those working in roles that are essential to the COVID-19 response. Mayo Clinic expects that the program will expand to all health care personnel soon, as well as patients at high risk of COVID-19 infection and complications.

Mayo Clinic will follow the guidance provided by federal and state authorities to prioritize groups for vaccinations. The guidelines have been developed by numerous national bodies, including the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

To develop a strategy for equitable allocation of limited vaccine supplies, these guidelines consider the risks of:

• Acquiring infection
• Severe morbidity and mortality
• Negative societal effects
• Transmitting infection to others

As availability improves, vaccines will be offered to all others in accordance to federal and state guidelines.

The first COVID-19 vaccine to be available under federal emergency use authorization is expected sometime in December 2020 or early January 2021. At that time, Mayo Clinic will begin vaccinating health care staff members at high occupational risk.

Limited supplies may mean that the program initially focuses on specific high-risk groups, but the program will expand to include all staff and patients. Mayo Clinic anticipates having enough vaccine for everyone who wants it in 2021.

Mayo Clinic will recommend the use of those vaccines that it deems to be safe. While there are many COVID-19 vaccine candidates in development, early interim data are encouraging for BNT162b2, the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE. This is likely to be the first vaccine that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizes for emergency use, likely in late December, or early January 2021. This vaccine was created using technology based on the molecular structure of the virus. This vaccine will be free from materials of animal origin and synthesized by an efficient, cell-free process without preservatives. It has been studied in approximately 43,000 people.

To receive emergency use authorization, the biopharmaceutical manufacturer must have followed at least half of the study participants for at least two months after completing the vaccination series, and the vaccine must be proven safe and effective in that population. In addition to the safety review by the FDA, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has convened a panel of vaccine safety experts to independently evaluate the safety data from the clinical trial. Mayo Clinic vaccine experts also will review available data. The safety of COVID-19 vaccine is being closely monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Dec. 12, the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, including authorization to vaccinate pregnant and breastfeeding women. The U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends with the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine that these patients discuss vaccination with their health care providers. They should discuss the benefits and risks, and consider what is known and what is not known to make an informed decision with the expectation that many would proceed with vaccination.

For the Pfizer vaccine, 60% of people in early-phase studies and in those 55 years and younger experienced some side effects, primarily injection site pain, fatigue and chills. Some people reported headache, muscle pain or joint pain. About 1 out of 5 people got a fever after they received this vaccine. For all people, these symptoms got better without medical care and usually within 24 to 36 hours.

For Moderna, 80% of people in early-phase studies and in those 65 years and younger experienced some side effects, primarily injection site pain, fatigue, chills, headache, muscle pain and joint pain. About 1 out of 7 people got a fever after they received this vaccine. These side effects generally occurred within two days after vaccination and got better in 24 to 48 hours.

The second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine should still be given even if you had one of these reactions after the first dose.

Outside of health care facilities with critical staffing needs, the management of symptoms, such as fever, differs. Get general guidance for patients. You may continue to work if you feel well enough to, even if you develop a fever, as long as:

• You have ONLY symptoms attributable to vaccine, such as headache, myalgias, chills, fever or local site reactions, AND
• You have NO symptoms of COVID-19 that are not vaccine-attributable, which are cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, or change in sense of taste or smell, AND
• Your symptoms resolve within 72 hours of vaccination, AND
• You have not sustained a significant COVID-19 exposure in the prior 14 days

Vaccine recipients will be provided with guidance on how to interpret side effects and symptoms, and what actions they should take following vaccination.

Although phase 3 trial results are not available, experimental vaccine interim data indicate 90% efficacy after two doses. Efficacy is the measure of effectiveness obtained from a randomized controlled clinical trial. Further details regarding the effectiveness of the vaccine, such as how long the vaccination offers protection, are not yet available.

With the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, two doses are given 21 days apart. Most other COVID-19 vaccines that are expected over the next few months are anticipated to be given over two doses 28 days apart. So far, only one vaccine can be given as a single dose.

At this time, patients cannot choose which vaccine to receive. Given initial limited supplies, Mayo will distribute available vaccines to the highest risk groups based on guidance from Public Health authorities.

At this time, the Moderna vaccine offers immunity of at least three months. For the other vaccines, it is not yet known how long COVID-19 vaccination will offer protection. Periodic boosters, such as with the annual flu shot, may or may not be needed.

Given the extent of COVID-19 spread in the U.S., masking, social distancing and self-quarantining will not be enough to contain the pandemic. Developing large-scale immunity in the community through vaccination is key to stopping the pandemic.

Everyone will need to continue to take precautions, such as masking and physical distancing, until the spread has stopped. Until then, COVID-19 spread can continue in the community from people who have or don't have symptoms.

A person can be contagious for as many as 14 days without symptoms. A person can develop symptoms but be contagious before symptoms start. Most healthy adults may be able to infect others, beginning two days before symptoms develop and up to 10 days after becoming sick.

Your primary care provider will not offer vaccination for COVID-19 at this time. The COVID-19 vaccine will be available to patients in a phased approach. The vaccination will be available to Mayo Clinic primary care patients at some point in the future, likely at centralized locations.

Yes. Mayo Clinic recommends getting vaccinated for COVID-19, even in those who have had COVID-19 previously. However, those that had COVID-19 should delay vaccination until about 90 days from diagnosis. People should not get vaccinated if in quarantine after exposure or if they have COVID-19 symptoms.

Yes. Mayo Clinic recommends all its staff and patients get the flu vaccine and when it becomes available, the COVID-19 vaccine.

Yes. While the vaccine is highly effective at preventing symptomatic and severe disease, it is not 100% effective, and it is not yet known how well it prevents asymptomatic infection, or how long its effects will last. Everyone will need to continue taking precautions like masking and physical distancing until the spread has stopped.

There are many COVID-19 vaccines in development. The first vaccines Mayo Clinic will receive are not live virus vaccines. Some of the COVID-19 vaccines under development are live but others are not. Those who are pregnant or immunocompromised should not get live vaccines. Mayo Clinic staff will ensure that those who are pregnant or immunocompromised do not get a live vaccine.

Neither the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine nor the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine contain fetal cells. Fetal cells were not used in the development or production of either vaccine. In two animal studies conducted for the development of the vaccine, researchers performed laboratory testing of the vaccines using historically harvested fetal cell lines. Both of the animal studies were conducted after the vaccine had been developed and was in phase 3 clinical trials at the time of the animal studies.

People with autoimmune diseases can take the vaccines. Some people with autoimmune diseases are taking strong immunosuppressant medications to control their disease. If that’s the case, they become immunocompromised depending on the medication and dose. The vaccine is not contraindicated for immunocompromised people, but might not work as well since their immune system is being suppressed.

The vaccines are not 100% effective but they are far better than not getting vaccine. The benefits certainly outweigh the risks in healthy older persons. One cannot get COVID-19 infection from the initial COVID-19 vaccines Mayo Clinic will receive as they are inactivated vaccines and not live vaccines.

At this time, international patients cannot come to Mayo Clinic just to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Given initial limited supplies, Mayo Clinic is allocated vaccine for patients in its region. Mayo will distribute vaccines to the highest-risk groups based on guidance from public health authorities. As supplies increase in 2021, the program will expand to include more staff and broader patient populations.

Eventually, once there’s enough vaccine, Mayo Clinic will offer the vaccine to all of its patients including its international patients. For now, Mayo Clinic will abide by federal and state guidelines to vaccinate those employees and patients in the highest tiers of risk.

Yes, the COVID-19 vaccine will be free. However, vaccine administration charges will be billed to insurance. We anticipate that the fee for vaccine administration will be covered by the payer at 100% and patients will not be billed for any unpaid charges. Patients and staff will need to bring their insurance card when they receive the vaccine.

The administrative fee covers labor, supplies and administrative support required to set up and operate vaccination clinics, as well as to administer vaccine in a physician office.

As our patients become eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, please be aware that persons with a history of severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) to eggs or any other substance should plan to stay to be observed for 30 minutes after vaccination. Mayo Clinic Health System will establish a waiting area at vaccination sites, staffed by medical personnel, in the event a patient has an allergic reaction

Neither the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine nor the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines contain egg nor were eggs used the development or production of either vaccine. However, those with severe allergic reactions to eggs or any other substance (i.e., anaphylaxis) are encouraged to remain after vaccination for 30 minutes for observation.

Yes. Persons who have previously had Guillain-Barre Syndrome may safely receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. These include those from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. To date, no cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome have been reported following vaccination among participants in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials.

If you have a history of an allergic reaction of any severity to polyethylene glycol (PEG) or polysorbate, you should not get the COVID-19 vaccine.

If you are unsure whether or not you have this allergy, check with your health care provider.

While there are no formal studies, the best evidence comes from women who got sick with COVID-19 while pregnant. While data clearly indicate pregnant women are at higher risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19 infection, there is no evidence of increased miscarriage rates.

During natural infection, the immune system generates the same antibodies to the spike protein that COVID-19 vaccines would. Thus, if COVID-19 affected fertility, there already would be an increase in miscarriage rates in women infected with COVID-19. This has not happened.

No, COVID-19 vaccines have not been linked to infertility.

A sophisticated disinformation campaign has been circulating online, claiming that antibodies to the spike protein of COVID-19 produced from these vaccines will bind to placental proteins and prevent pregnancy. This disinformation is thought to originate from internet postings by a former scientist known to hold anti-vaccine views. These postings are not scientifically plausible, as COVID-19 infection has not been linked to infertility. Also, no other viral infection or vaccination-inducing immunity by similar mechanisms has been shown to cause infertility. Antibodies to the spike protein have not been linked to infertility after COVID-19 infection. There is no scientific reason to believe this will change after vaccination for COVID-19.

These postings are not scientifically plausible, as COVID-19 infection has not been linked to infertility. Also, no other viral infection or vaccination-inducing immunity by similar mechanisms has been shown to cause infertility. Antibodies to the spike protein have not been linked to infertility after COVID-19 infection. There is no scientific reason to believe this will change after vaccination for COVID-19.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations do not require gloves to be worn when administering vaccinations. Hands will be cleaned with an alcohol-based antiseptic hand rub or washed with soap and water between each patient contact.

Vaccine recipients will be provided with guidance on how to interpret side effects or symptoms and what actions they should take following their vaccination. You may continue to work if you feel well enough to, even if you develop a fever, as long as:

• You have ONLY symptoms attributable to vaccine, such as headache, myalgias, chills, fever, or local site reactions, AND
• You have NO symptoms of COVID-19 that are not vaccine-attributable, which are cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, or change in sense of taste or smell, AND
• Your symptoms resolve within 72 hours of vaccination, AND
• You have not sustained a significant COVID-19 exposure in the prior 14 days

Outside of health care facilities with critical staffing needs, the management of symptoms, such as fever, differs. Get general guidance for patients.

Whether it's vaccine dose one or two, do not take fever reducing-pain medications, such as Tylenol, Feverall, ibuprofen, etc., before vaccination just to prevent reactions that haven't yet happened. Doing so may dampen your immune response. If you do have a moderate headache or body ache as a reaction to the vaccine, you can certainly take such pain relievers as needed to treat that pain.

There is no need to postpone your vaccine until after your surgery. Any side effects, such as fever, that might occur from the vaccine would have resolved within seven days; most side effects resolve within three days. We do not recommend you schedule your vaccine within a few days of your surgery, especially after the second dose of either the Pfizer of Moderna mRNA vaccines. Over 15% of people will experience a fever after the second dose and less than 1% after the first dose.

If you check in on the day of surgery and are found to have a fever, it could result in having to reschedule the surgery. A fever immediately after the surgery raises concerns about a surgical wound infection, so it’s ideal if you can allow a week between the vaccine and surgery, especially for the second dose.

We do not know. The very large pre-licensure trials used symptomatic COVID-19 infection as the outcome to measure. They did not test for asymptomatic COVID-19 infection. We know the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are 95% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infection. We do not know yet if they prevent a vaccinated person from getting an asymptomatic infection that the person could spread to another. Those vaccinated must for now still practice the same safety precautions (masking, social distancing, frequent hand-washing) as the unvaccinated.

Providers are getting lots of questions about whether or not it's OK to get the COVID-19 vaccine after having received a different vaccine, like the flu vaccine, and whether it's OK to get another type of vaccine after getting the COVID-19 vaccine and within what timeframe.

Our Mayo Clinic experts suggest you consider delaying getting the COVID-19 vaccine if you've had another type of vaccine within the last 14 days and to wait a couple of weeks after getting the COVID-19 vaccine to receive a different type of vaccine, like the flu vaccine.

While there is no reason to believe that the one vaccine will interfere with the other, when the COVID-19 vaccine was being studied, research volunteers did not receive vaccines at the same time or within two to four weeks of the COVID-19 vaccination. If you had a reaction after vaccination, keeping them separated helps to correctly identify which vaccine may have been responsible.

Mayo Clinic experts have no concerns with either safety or effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine for those individuals who choose to proceed with the COVID-19 vaccination despite a recent vaccination.