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Questions Answered About the COVID-19 Vaccine

As a primary care doctor at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, I get a lot of questions about the vaccines. Many people are confused because they are the first of their kind. I also understand our community’s history of being mistreated by the medical profession, and our ongoing health disparities can make it hard to trust the health care system.

Published

5 years ago

February 23, 2021

Kiki

Dr. Nailah Thompson receiving her COVID-19 vaccination

My 67-year-old mom recently called to let me know she’d gotten her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. She said it went well, but she was surprised she was the only Black or Brown person she noticed getting the vaccine.

My mom isn’t the only one concerned about this. We know that Black and Brown communities are getting the virus more and are dying at higher rates than white communities, but fewer of us are getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Below are some answers to questions that come up often with my patients, family and friends.

The vaccines were developed quickly. Are they safe?

Yes, they are safe. The vaccines were developed quickly because the new mRNA technology we hear so much about was already in the works, and because the federal government provided significant financial and other support to vaccine developers. A safety board approved every study, and the FDA carefully reviewed the data from every phase of every vaccine trial. I looked carefully at the science and the data and based on that — I decided it was safe to get vaccinated.

Does it alter your DNA?

It does not. The COVID-19 vaccine is a new type of vaccine that uses mRNA not DNA. mRNA teaches our cells to make specific proteins that stimulate our immune system to create antibodies to a virus. This keeps us from getting sick. mRNA does not interact with or alter DNA. In fact, cells break down and get rid of mRNA after it does its job.

Does it contain the COVID-19 virus?

No. The COVID-19 vaccine does not contain the virus and will not give you COVID-19.

Were communities of color part of the vaccine clinical trials?

Yes. Vaccine trial participants were from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, 10% African American/Black and 13-20 % Latinx. They also included a significant number of people greater than 55 years old.

What about side effects?

You may have mild to moderate side effects in the first 24 to 36 hours, and that’s normal. It’s a sign your body is building immunity against the virus. Some common side effects are fever, fatigue, headache, chills, muscle and joint pain. An extremely small number of people who have a prior history of allergies to vaccines have had an allergic reaction, which is why you will be monitored for 15 to 30 minutes after getting the vaccine. If you do have vaccine allergies, you should discuss the vaccine with your doctor.

Whether or not you decide to get vaccinated is an important personal decision. I decided to get the vaccine because I believe it’s our best tool to end the pandemic and the suffering it’s caused in our communities.

There have been challenges with getting enough vaccine supply, and Kaiser Permanente, like other health care systems, is working to get more. We’re also working to ensure we’re giving the vaccine equitably, making sure people who are at highest risk of getting infected, or dying from COVID-19, get vaccinated first.

Dr. Nailah Thompson is an internist with The Permanente Medical Group at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center. Learn more about COVID-19 vaccine myths and facts at the CDC website.

Kiki

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Related Topics:CDC DNA doctor facts featured internist Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center mRNA myths pandemic primary care side effects vaccination vaccine

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Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke