Although side effects of COVID vaccines can be unsettling, medical experts have pointed out that they are usually moderate to moderate, last only 48 hours and are actually an indication that your shot is working. During a January 28 interview with MSNBC, White House Chief Counsel, COVID Anthony Fauci, Managing director, recently dropped two side effects, especially what he says should be a welcome sign that your immune system is responding to your vaccination. Read on to find out what side effects are good news, and for Fauci’s first-hand description of the COVID vaccine, says Dr. Fauci says he had these side effects from his second dose of vaccine.
Fauci explained that especially the two unpleasant side effects are not cause for concern, but reassurance. “The vaccine, because you give it in the arm, gives it a systemic response. You know that because sometimes after the second dose you feel a little pain, a little cool, which means that the immune system is really busy recovery, ‘Fauci explains.
According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), this is because the two mRNA COVID vaccines currently approved in the US, from Pfizer and Moderna, do not inject recipients with inactivated virus. Instead, they teach our own cells to mimic certain characteristics of the COVID virus so that we can train immune systems to fight it later, if necessary.
Specifically, the COVID vaccines work by instructing our cells to recreate their own version of the “peak protein” found on the outside of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. As more cells create these peak proteins, our immune systems realize that the protein does not belong there and begin to build up an immune response and make antibodies, as happens in a natural infection against COVID-19, ‘says the CDC. So, if you are experiencing the pains and colds that Fauci mentioned, rest assured: it is only your immune system that is on fire to take down a suspected threat.
Ask yourself what other side effects can you expect after getting the chance? Read on for the most common side effects of COVID vaccines reported by Moderna patients, and if you are over 65, you should not get this new vaccine, experts know.
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Joint pain
Joint pain, medically known as arthralgia, is the fourth most common side effect reported by vaccine recipients: almost half of those enrolled in the Moderna trials – to be exact 46 percent – had this particular side effect in the hours or days after receiving the shot. And for more information on what not to do before getting your vaccine, check out if you are using this OTC medicine, stop before getting the vaccine.
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Headache
Headaches were reported slightly more frequently than joint pain, while 64 percent of patients in Moderna trials experienced this specific side effect. According to the CDC, headaches are usually more common after the second dose.
While a study published in the Journal of Virology Warning that the use of over-the-counter painkillers before anesthesia can numb the effectiveness of the vaccines, according to experts, it is good to use them afterwards to treat side effects against vaccines, including headaches. And for another possible delayed response to the shot, look at this side effect of the COVID vaccine may appear a week after your admission.
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Fatigue
If you experience sudden exhaustion after receiving a COVID survey, you are not alone: about 70 percent of Moderna vaccine recipients have become tired after their vaccination, making it the second most common side effect.
For this reason, you may want to plan your lap if you know that you will then have time to rest, if possible – for example on a lighter working day or at the end of your working week. In fact, after personally experiencing side effects from the COVID shot, epidemiologist infectious diseases Saskia Popescu, PhD, recently appealed: ‘We need to ensure that people have the opportunity to take time off after the survey.’ And sign up for our daily newsletter for more regular COVID news delivered directly to your inbox.
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Pain at the injection site
The most common side effect reported by Moderna recipients was injection site pain: 92 percent of those vaccinated experienced this sensation.
“There are two types of side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine,” Teresa Bartlett, Managing Director, Senior Medical Officer at Sedgwick, Medical Claims, recently said Gewoel. While systemic side effects affect the broader body function (fever, chills and pains are all the best examples), local side effects are more common, which include redness, swelling and perhaps swelling of lymph nodes in the vaccinated arm. And for more information on the latest side effect she mentioned, check out The Rare COVID Vaccine Side Effect Doctors Want You To Be Prepared For.