This is our 9th lesson on the Covid vaccines. The 8th lesson was a member-only lesson.
In this lesson, my friend and Spanish-English interpreter, Sonja Um-Siri, asks the following questions in Spanish:
- Can you get the coronavirus from the vaccination?
- Should you get vaccinated if you’ve already had Covid.
- Should people with preexisting conditions get vaccinated?
My Spanish teacher from the San Pedro Spanish School, Elizabet Cortéz, provides the answers in Spanish. Finally, we will practice a statement regarding risk vs benefit of vaccination. As we go through these questions and answers we will learn a lot of useful vocabulary, phrases and grammar. I hope you enjoy.
More Lessons on Spanish for COVID-19
The primary purpose of these lessons is to practice useful Spanish vocabulary and phrases when discussing vaccination against Covid-19. Much of the discussion refers to the mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna and the information regarding all the Covid-19 vaccines may change as we learn more. Therefore, when speaking with patients, you should always use information provided by current trusted medical sources.
LEVEL - ADVANCED
¿Me puedo contagiar de coronavirus?
2:08Pregunta 1
¿Me puedo contagiar de coronavirus al vacunarme?
No es posible contagiarse de coronavirus a través de la vacuna porque la vacuna solamente contiene una porción inofensiva del virus. No contiene el virus.
vacunarse
to get vaccinated
contagiarse de / infectarse de
to become infected with
¿Me puedo contagiar de coronavirus al vacunarme?
Can I get coronavirus from getting vaccinated?
al vacunarme
from getting vaccinated
- We often use AL + INFINITIVO to say, WHEN/UPON DOING SOMETHING. In the lesson, How the Covid Vaccines Work in Spanish – Premium, we used AL PRESENTAR ESTA PROTEÍNA to begin a sentence with: BY PRESENTING THIS PROTEIN. And here, we are using AL INFINITIVO to say, FROM DOING SOMETHING.
a través de
through
No es posible contagiarse de coronavirus a través de la vacuna
Porción inofensiva del virus
3:59inofensivo / a
harmless
… porque la vacuna solamente contiene una porción inofensiva del virus. No contiene el virus.
… because the vaccine contains only a harmless portion of the virus. It does not contain the virus.
Check out the lesson, How the Covid Vaccines Work in Spanish – Premium, to explain how the messenger RNA vaccines work in Spanish.
Ya me he contagiado de Covid
5:27Pregunta 2
Si ya me he contagiado de Covid-19, ¿debería vacunarme?
Sí. No hay ningún problema en vacunarse después de haber dado positivo al Covid-19. Al contrario, la vacuna va a actuar como un refuerzo a su sistema inmunológico para que usted tenga más protección contra el virus.
No hay ningún problema en vacunarse
It’s perfectly fine to get vaccinated
to test positive for Covid-19
dar positivo al/por Covid-19
- Whether referring to a woman or a man, it’s always DAR POSITIVO. I think this is because it refers to EL RESULTADO de la prueba.
después de haber dado positivo al Covid-19
after testing positive for Covid-19
- Here, HABER indicates you are referring to something that has ALREADY OCCURRED. It’s like saying, after HAVING tested positive for Covid-19.
No hay ningún problema en vacunarse después de haber dado positivo al Covid-19.
It is perfectly fine to get vaccinated after testing positive for Covid-19.
al contrario
to the contrary, rather
actuar
to act
el sistema inmunológico / inmune
immune system
el refuerzo
booster, reinforcement
la vacuna de refuerzo
booster vaccine
Refuerzo a su sistema inmunológico
7:22Al contrario, la vacuna va a actuar como un refuerzo a su sistema inmunológico
Rather, the vaccine is going to act like a booster to your immune system
…para que usted tenga más protección contra el virus.
…so that you have more protection against the virus.
- Just like EN CASO DE QUE, PARA QUE, is one of those conjunctions that is ALWAYS followed by the SUBJUNCTIVE. We cover this use of the subjunctive in our free lesson: Quiz # 4 – The Subjunctive in Adverbial Clauses. Spanish Grammar members, see: Subj10 Subjunctive Required
Tengo una enfermedad preexistente
9:40Pregunta 3
Si tengo una enfermedad preexistente, ¿debería vacunarme?
Sí, porque personas con enfermedades preexistentes tienen un mayor riesgo de morir o sufrir complicaciones graves por Covid.
la enfermedad preexistente
pre-existing condition or illness
un mayor riesgo
a greater risk
las complicaciones graves
serious complications
complicaciones graves por/de Covid
serious complications from Covid
Tienen un mayor riesgo de morir.
They are at greater risk of dying.
- The verb TENER is commonly used to discuss RISK or CHANCE.
Tienen más probabilidades de sufrir complicaciones.
They are more likely to suffer complications.
Personas con enfermedades preexistentes tienen un mayor riesgo de morir o sufrir complicaciones graves por Covid.
People with pre-existing conditions are at greater risk of dying or suffering serious complications from Covid.
Son los mayores beneficiados
11:55Por eso, ellos son los mayores beneficiados al vacunarse.
Therefore, they are the ones who benefit the most from getting vaccinated.
Beneficios y daños
13:26Los datos demuestran que los beneficios de esta vacuna son mayores que los daños de infectarse de Covid19.
los datos
the data
demostrar
to show, to demonstrate
los beneficios
benefits
los daños
harms
Los beneficios son mayores que los daños.
The benefits outweigh the harms.
Los datos demuestran que los beneficios de esta vacuna son mayores que los daños de infectarse de Covid19.
The data show that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh the harms of becoming infected with Covid19.
Before we conclude, recall this statement regarding risk of vaccination vs infection from our prior lesson: Risks of the Covid Vaccine in Spanish
Además, el riesgo de vacunarse es minúsculo en comparación al riesgo de contagiarse de Covid y sufrir complicaciones.
References
The following is a great series of YouTube videos by drvellermd.com explaining the pathophysiology and trial results of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. They have videos covering a lot more on Covid, including the other vaccines.
Related Lessons
- Spanish for COVID-19 Page
- How the Covid Vaccines Work in Spanish
- How the Covid Vaccines Work in Spanish – Premium
- Risks of the Covid Vaccine in Spanish
- Quiz # 4 – The Subjunctive in Adverbial Clauses
- Subj10 Subjunctive Required
- FL04 Flu Q and A – Flu Vaccine – Who, Why, and When (premium)
- FL05 Flu Q and A – Flu Vaccine – How It Works and Side Effects (premium)
Special thanks to Elizabeth Cortéz, my Spanish teacher at the San Pedro Spanish School in Guatemala who provided most of the Spanish for this lesson. And special thanks to my friend, Sonja Um-Siri, who asked the questions in this lesson. Sonja also reviews almost every lesson I publish. I could not do this without her. 
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Take the quiz on our latest free lesson and get a discount on your membership!
Buenos días Doctor Molly. Muchíííííísimas gracias por todo tu trabajo, y por toda la información fenomenal en tu sitio web, en particular en tus podcasts. Soy farmacéutico y también llevo 10 años estudiando español. He aprendido un montón de tus podcasts, y mi vocabulario en el campo de medicina ha mejorado mucho. Gracias también por haber compartir el enlace de los videos en YouTube de Dr Veller – sus videos son increíbles y contienen mucha información útil para aprender aún más términos médicos – gracias. Que tengas un super buen día y espero con ansias tus próximos podcasts. Saludos, Dan (Vancouver, Canadá)
¡Qué mensaje más alentador! Muchísimas gracias por tus amables palabras. Me alegra mucho que te gusten los podcasts y que los videos del Dr. Veller te hayan resultado útiles. Gracias Dan, por tomarte el tiempo de dejar este comentario.