Welcome to Season 2 of Checking In with our new host, Zahra Barnes, SELF’s interim editor in chief. In this episode, we hear from several listeners with common questions and concerns about the COVID-19 vaccines. Questions like: Where can I get vaccinated? Should I get the vaccine if I have underlying health conditions? What if I’m breastfeeding? How do I manage my anxiety about getting vaccinated?

Zahra first consults with epidemiologist and SELF contributor Tara Smith, Ph.D., who takes us through how the vaccine works, why the vast majority of side effects are nothing to worry about, and what you need to know before getting the vaccine. Zahra then talks to SELF’s associate news director, Sarah Jacoby, who has been covering the pandemic and the vaccines extensively. Sarah shares her experience getting her COVID-19 vaccine as well as a glimpse of what life post-vaccination might look like. 

To connect with Dr. Smith and Sarah, you can follow them on Twitter @aetiology and @sarah_jacoby, respectively, and read their work for SELF here (https://www.self.com/contributor/tara-smith) and here (https://www.self.com/contributor/sarah-jacoby). 

Zahra mentions a March 2021 survey about there being little difference in vaccine hesitancy between Black and white Americans. You can find more information on that here (https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/12/976172586/little-difference-in-vaccine-hesitancy-among-white-and-black-americans-poll-find). And here are several SELF articles on coronavirus vaccines that you may find helpful, including a guide to getting a vaccination appointment: 

Here’s How to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine: https://www.self.com/story/how-to-get-covid-vaccine

9 Ways to Prepare for Your COVID-19 Appointment: https://www.self.com/story/prepare-for-covid-19-vaccine-appointment

Does It Matter Which COVID-19 Vaccine You Get?: https://www.self.com/story/which-covid-19-vaccine

mRNA Coronavirus Vaccines: 9 Questions, Answered: https://www.self.com/story/mrna-coronavirus-vaccine-questions

How Much Do You Need To Worry About Coronavirus Variants?: https://www.self.com/story/coronavirus-variants

7 Small Things You Can Do To Help Protect Yourself From Coronavirus Variants: https://www.self.com/story/coronavirus-variant-precautions

Don’t miss out on new episodes of Checking In on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Apple Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-apple

Spotify: http://listen.self.com/self-spotify<…