“It is very variable. It is difficult for me to say who will have these side effects and whether they will go deeper after the first or second dose,” said Dr. Wilbur Chen of the University Of Maryland School Of Medicament.
As more people are vaccinated against COVID-19, some are intrigued by the fact that they are developing symptoms after the second injection that they did not notice after the first.
“It is very variable. It is difficult for me to say who will experience these side effects and whether they will go deeper after the first or second dose, ”said Dr. Wilbur Chen of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
“But, chances are – after the second dose it is worse than the first dose,” he said.
Chen is head of the Adult Clinical Studies section of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health and serves on the Immunization Practices Committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
He said that, compared to older people, those under 65, who have a more robust immune system, may respond to the vaccine with more severe symptoms.
“They feel they are in a lot of pain, fever, sore throat or headache, and it can be so severe that they want to be sick from work for a day or two,” said Chen.
If symptoms develop, they can appear within hours of vaccination, and Chen said they usually do not last more than two days.
They can be treated with over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen or naproxen.
Chen said people should not self-medicate in anticipation of something that may not happen, which is in line with CDC guidelines.
“It is not recommended that you take these drugs before vaccination in order to try to prevent side effects, because it is not known how these drugs can affect how well the vaccine works,” says the CDC website.
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