Why get the vaccine?
Many wonder – why should I get the vaccine? The vaccine is important for many reasons. In order to get to herd immunity, approximately 70% of the population should have immunity to the virus from exposure or from the vaccine. With a population of more than 300 million, it would take 210 million or so infections to obtain herd immunity – the death toll would be unimaginable. So it is necessary for the overwhelming majority of us to receive the vaccine in short order to minimize spread and prevent the development of mutant strains that may be resistant to the vaccine. When you have the chance – please take your shot.The Vaccine and Fillers
As you all know, fillers are a common treatment performed in our offices. Many patients have contacted us to ask about whether they should have the vaccine and what is the impact that the vaccine would have on their fillers. Many rumors have been circulating that the vaccine dissolves fillers and leads to long-term untoward effects. To dispel some of the myths:- The vaccine does not dissolve fillers.
- If you have the opportunity, you should get the vaccine; having had fillers in the past is not a contraindication.
- A few (3) patients in the clinical trials experienced swelling after receiving the vaccine. This is a 1 in 10,000 chance occurrence. They were treated with Benadryl and/or oral steroids with a resolution of the swelling.
- The general thinking is oral antihistamines would be the best first-line defense so as not to block the immune response. If swelling is severe, steroids are a consideration.
- We do not know how many of our thousands of patients have had the vaccine yet, but we have not had any calls regarding adverse reactions. If you have experienced any adverse reaction related to the vaccine and your fillers, we would like to hear from you.
- I have a few colleagues that have had fillers in the past that have had temporary swelling that resolved. This is very anecdotal.