LEARN THE BASICS
Before we can understand the vaccine and how it works, we have to have a basic understanding of how COVID-19 affects the human body.
The American Lung Association provides a good understanding in both text and infographic form to understand this disease. Click here to learn more.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also shares up to date answers to a wide variety of Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19. Click here to learn more.
Once we know how COVID-19 can affect us, we can start to understand how the vaccine helps our body fight against it.
A lot of people have expressed concern about how quickly the COVID-19 vaccine was developed. This six minute video from the University of California may help better understand the vaccine development process.
To learn more about the currently authorized and recommended vaccines in the United States to prevent COVID-19, click here to visit the CDC website.
DECIDE IF IT’S RIGHT FOR YOU
We get it; history and lived experience doesn’t necessarily translate to trust in pharmaceutical companies or the healthcare system at large. It’s important to ask your own questions in conversation with people you identify with, and empower yourself through reliable information.
“Greater than COVID” features videos from Black and Latinx doctors, nurses, and researchers provide facts and dispel misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines.
The conversation between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a viral immunologist who was a key scientist behind the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, may also be of interest.
Discuss it with your own trusted healthcare provider, too, to make sure it’s right for you. But be aware - most primary care doctors offices won’t have the vaccine available at your normal visit.
For more information about preparing for the COVID-19 vaccine or how the vaccine affects different groups of people, click here to visit the CDC website.
In making your decision, it can also be helpful to know what the CDC recommends you can safely do once you’ve been fully vaccinated, which you can learn about by clicking here.
GET THE VACCINE
No matter where in the United States you are, www.VaccineFinder.org allows you to search by vaccine brand and zip code to find a wide variety of vaccine providers near you, such as CVS, Walgreens, HEB, Austin Regional Clinic, and many other locations.
If you’re in Austin, visit the Austin Public Health website to decide the best way for you to get the vaccine. You can schedule online or by phone. Call 512-974-2000 or 3-1-1, and leave your name and phone number. They will call back in the language you need. Or find a time for a walk-up, no-appointment-needed clinic: Click here to learn more.
For a direct vaccine source that provides other helpful resources with a mind for accessibility, People's Community Clinic is a local COVID-19 vaccine provider, open to EVERYONE 12 and older! Go to bit.ly/PCCvaccine to make an appointment, or call 512.478.4939.
Austin ISD pop-up clinics do not require registration, and are open to students, staff, and family/community members ages 12 and older.Click here to learn more on the Austin ISD website.
If you're elsewhere in Texas, go to covidvaccine.texas.gov or call 1-833-832-7067.
To learn more about resources for free childcare and transportation to help you in accessing the vaccine, or about rewards after getting your vaccine, check out Vaccines.gov by clicking here.
Please note that Texas Folklife is not sanctioned to provide medical advice. We are simply collecting input from and responding to community views. Official medical resources and your healthcare provider should be consulted before making a decision that impacts your health.
