There are signs that the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are reducing deaths and hospitalizations across the UK. This positive impact is the result of millions of people receiving at least the first dose of a two-injection regimen. This is not the only interesting view that emerges from the vaccination process.
According to data analyzed by the COVID Symptom study application, which monitors the continued impact of the vaccination effort from users’ perceptions, the after effects of the vaccine are more common the second time around.
According to findings published in early February, about one in five who received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine had at least one systemic effect.
This contrasted with about one in seven people experiencing at least one systemic effect within seven days of their first injection.
Likewise, more people experienced effects on the arm after the second dose, with about half reporting local symptoms such as pain and swelling.
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What’s more, the team behind the app also found that previous exposure to coronavirus makes it more likely that someone will experience systemic effects after vaccination.
About a third of vaccinated people who have had COVID-19 in the past reported at least one systemic effect within seven days of their vaccination, compared with just under one in five people who did not yet have the virus.
About one in twenty people who had ever had COVID-19 experienced the effects for more than three days during the first week and about one in fifty were affected for six days or more.
What are the common side effects?
According to data from the COVID Symptom Study app, common side effects include headaches; fever; chills or chills; tiredness (fatigue); muscle or joint pain; diarrhea and feeling sick (nausea).
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It is also common to experience pain, swelling, redness or itching at the injection site, or swelling of the glands (lymph nodes) in the armpit.
As the team behind the app pointed out, although they can make you feel dirty, all of these effects are a sign that your immune system is taking action to protect you from COVID-19.
“At the same time, don’t worry if you don’t experience any of these effects after the vaccine,” they noted.
“Your immune system will still be learning to respond to the virus – it’s just not making a fuss about it.”
If you are not yet eligible, you must wait to be contacted.
The NHS will let you know when it is your turn to get the vaccine.
It is important not to contact the NHS for vaccination before that.
You can book your vaccination appointments online if any of the following apply:
- You are 60 years old or older
- You are at high risk for coronavirus (clinically extremely vulnerable)
- You are a qualified health or social care assistant
- You have a condition that puts you at greater risk (clinically vulnerable)
- You are the primary caregiver for someone at high risk of developing coronavirus.