A rare side effect of the modern coronavirus vaccine may actually be a good sign, according to health experts.
Some recipients reported having experienced a ‘Covid arm’, in which people experience itching and swelling of the skin, sometimes accompanied by red lumps or hives.
But the stain is a harmless immune system response to the injection that goes away in a week.
In fact, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, says that such a reaction is an indication that his body is preparing to prevent a possible infection in the future.
Some patients have reported a rare side effect, called the “COVID arm”, which appears as a red, swollen spot, which is often painful to touch after receiving the Modern vaccine
Health officials say the rash appears to be harmless and usually goes away on its own in a few days with treatments like ice and Tylenol
Chin-Hong said the reactions should not be a cause for concern, but rather a ‘celebration’.
“The first reason for celebration is the reaction you are feeling that your immune system is functioning and preparing to protect you,” he said.
‘The second reason for celebration is that it is going away and it really doesn’t last long.’
The official term used by dermatologists and allergists to describe the side effect is ‘delayed skin hypersensitivity’.
Cutaneous means that it affects the skin, hypersensitivity means an unwanted reaction produced by the immune system and delayed because it usually occurs days after the injection is given.
An infectious disease expert said the side effect (pictured) is a good sign because the immune system is getting stronger and being trained to fight infection
The rash is typically red and swollen, sometimes painful to the touch and always appears on the arm where the vaccine was administered.
These reactions were also found in people who received vaccines against tetanus, the vaccine against chicken pox and the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella).
But the COVID arm only occurred in people who received the COIVD-19 vaccine from Moderna, not from Pfizer, and was reported in their clinical trials.
Chin-Hong told DailyMail.com that he likens the side effect to the immune system being on a military training ground.
‘The camp is a gradual process. At first, the antibodies or cells of the fighter soldier that you develop are not fully trained, ‘he said.
“So they are being trained and in this training process, they are very excited or anxious or angry, because they are working hard and become very good over time.”
This soldier’s feeling of ‘anger’ may manifest itself as a COVID arm, but it will eventually go away on its own.
Chin-Hong says that this is the immune system being prepared in case you are actually infected with the coronavirus.
“So when you take the second shot, they’ll be ready to attack this thing that looks like what they’ve trained for their entire lives,” he said.
‘But then it’s not the real COVID deal so they just gthe back to the base. ‘
However, he said that if people do not experience the reaction, there is no reason to panic because, in clinical trials, half of the participants did not experience any side effects.
“If you don’t understand, it doesn’t mean that your immune system is not working,” he explained.
If you have a reaction, try moving house or using a hot compress and, if that doesn’t work, take Tylenol or ibuprofen.
But above all, Chin-Hong says that whether his reaction is a headache or a COVID arm, it is better than the long-term consequences of COVID-19.
‘From the most common to non-vaccine-related things, it’s much easier to get something and deal with it temporarily, instead of the long-acting effects of COVID and the uncertainty of how sick you will get and the potentially far-reaching syndrome where the symptoms last for months and months, ‘he said.
