How do we know that these vaccines work and that they’re safe?

These vaccines have been studied in many thousands of volunteers who have been followed up carefully for months to see if they develop COVID following their vaccines. The vaccines have been found to be very effective in preventing people from becoming sick or dying from COVID. All vaccine recipients are also monitored carefully for the development of side effects, which are generally similar to those of other vaccines, and typically go away within a few days. 

I’d like to take a moment here to note that COVID has disproportionately affected communities of color. Black Americans have the highest mortality rate of any racial or ethnic group. In view of that increased risk, it’s particularly important for people in these communities to get the vaccine and to feel confident in its safety. The clinical trials included large numbers of people from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, and researchers found effectiveness and side effects were similar among different ethnicities.