Why You Should Still Get the COVID-19 Vaccination

State health officials addressed three myths about the COVID-19 vaccine that in an effort to push people off the fence about getting it as the number of people wanting the shot has leveled off.

On one hand over a quarter of the population in New Hampshire is fully vaccinated and 50% has received at least one dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. On the other demand for the vaccine is down across New Hampshire as available supply increases and restrictions are lifted.

"We’re definitely seeing the demand kind of plateau and and I don’t want to say peter out, but it’s definitely slowing down," Sununu said.

4,500 doses of the single shot Janssen vaccine from Johnson & Johnson will be available with an appointment only at  three locations on Sunday:

• Newington: Mall at Fox Run
• Concord: Steeplegate Mall
• Nashua: Pheasant Lane Mall

"It's safe, it's effective, it helps us get back to normal," Sununu said of the Janssen vaccine which is what he received on April 10. Administration of the vaccine was suspended while an issue with blood clots was investigated.

Dr. Beth Daly, chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, addressed issues that make some unsure about taking the COVID-19 vaccine at Thursday's briefing including the speed at which they were developed, potential side effects, what is in the vaccine and if you should be vaccinated if you already had the

• DEVELOPMENT: "While these vaccines were approved quickly, there were no shortcuts taken. They’re made using the same scientific principles as other vaccines and they underwent rigorous scrutiny by scientists and medical experts," Daly said.
• GETTING COVID-19 FROM THE VACCINE: "The vaccine cannot give you COVID-19, nor will it make you test positive for the virus.The vaccine is not made with living virus, so this is not possible."
• ALREADY HAD COVID-19: "If you already had COVID-19 you should still get vaccinated. This will boost your immunity and help to protect you from potential re-infection as well as infection with variant strains of COVID-19 and then lastly, some
• POTENTIAL SIDE EFFECTS: "You may experience these common side effects such as pain at your injection site or feeling tired or having body aches in the first days after vaccination, These are all normal and expected. Side effects mean that your body is. Responding to the vaccine and building that very important immunity, these side effects are better than getting COVID-19, which can leave you with long term symptoms and potentially result in hospitalization and death We have seen even young people get hospitalized or have weeks or months of breathing problems that impacted their ability to play sports or exercise or live a normal daily life. So even if you think you’re at low risk for severe infection, getting vaccinated will help keep you at work or in school.

President Joe Biden during his joint speech to Congress on Wednesday night said the vaccine is helping the country get back to normal living and encouraged people to take the shot.

“Getting together with friends, going to the park for a picnic without needing to mask up, we’re back to that place now as long as you get vaccinated,” Biden said. “So go get the shot.”

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH