A specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently shared three common side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“People have mild reactions to vaccines. Especially after the second dose, so people should be prepared to have pain, potentially fatigue and low fever, Amanda Cohn, MD, CAPT, USPHS, a member of the National CDC Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases , said at the end of last week.
But, she noted, these side effects are “expected and should go away after a day or two.”
“It’s not COVID,” she continued. “It is your body building an immune response to the protein that mimics the disease.”
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In fact: the two coronavirus vaccines had emergency approval in the USA – one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and the other by Moderna – can cause side effects after being administered, such as pain and swelling at the injection site and / or fever, chills and headache, says the CDC.
Since the start of vaccination initiatives, many patients have reported experiencing the so-called “COVID arm” after receiving the vaccine, while others, hoping to avoid any unpleasant side effects, have been warned not to take over-the-counter pain relievers in advance, as experts are concerned that doing so may impact vaccine effectiveness.
The country’s leading infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned of side effects, saying in January that he was “unconscious” for about a day after receiving the second dose of the Modern vaccine.
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But not everyone who received the vaccine will experience side effects – and that does not mean that the injection was not effective, experts previously told Fox News.
“When it comes to vaccines (COVID-19 and others), the phrase ‘No pain, no gain’ does not apply. Studies do not support the idea that if you have a mild reaction or no reaction at all, you are less protected. The immune system is incredibly complex and everyone will react differently and for different reasons, “Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious doctor and epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, told Fox News.
“In general, young people tend to react more vigorously, women have more local reactions (but not more general reactions) and reactions after the second dose are more prominent than after the first,” she added. “But,” she noted, “your experience can be quite different.”
Dr. Richard Ellison, meanwhile, said that those who have no reaction after vaccination may simply be “luckier”.
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“Having symptoms means that your body is reacting to the vaccine, but people can also have a very good antibody response without symptoms. They are luckier,” said Ellison, an epidemiologist at the UMass Memorial Medical Center. “It is also more common to have a reaction after the second dose, which is very common after two-dose vaccines.”
For those who experience side effects from the vaccine, the CDC recommends placing a clean, fresh, moist towel over the injection site if you feel pain, while recommending “using or exercising your arm” to reduce any discomfort. The federal agency also advises “drinking plenty of fluids” and “dressing in light clothes” in case of fever.