Can you choose which COVID-19 vaccine you get?
(FOX 9) - Minnesota health officials say you can choose not to take a particular COVID-19 vaccine that’s offered to you, but it means you’ll have to get back in line and wait for a different one.
There are now three coronavirus vaccines authorized in the United States: Moderna, Pfizer—both of which require two shots—and the newly approved single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Kris Ehresmann, the Minnesota Department of Health’s infectious disease director, said Tuesday people won’t have a choice on which COVID-19 vaccine they’ll be offered when it’s their turn to be vaccinated, but they don’t have to take a particular vaccine if they don’t want it. However, if you choose not to take the vaccine that’s offered to you, you’ll have to get back in line and wait for another opportunity to get a shot, she said.
Ehresmann says you can choose not to take a particular COVID-19 vaccine, but get back in line
Kris Ehresmann, the Minnesota Department of Health's Infectious Disease Director, said Tuesday that Minnesotans can choose not to take a particular COVID-19 vaccine, whether it is the new single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine or the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, but you will have to get back in line and wait for another opportunity to get a different vaccine.
"Certainly, if you don’t want that vaccine, you can say, ‘I’m not going to take it now’," Ehresmann said. "But, that means you’re going to have to get back in line and just wait until you have the opportunity to get a different vaccine."
Ehresmann and other health officials recommend taking the vaccine if you are offered it, regardless of which one it is.
"The best vaccine is the vaccine that's in your arm and protecting you today," Ehresmann said.
VACCINE TIMELINE: When will I get my COVID-19 vaccine?
As of Feb. 28, 908,590 Minnesotans have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 472,789 are fully vaccinated, which is around 16% and 9% of the state's population respectively, the latest MDH data shows.