By this time, you have probably heard from friends, social media, news sources and medical experts that you can expect side effects if you get the COVID vaccine. Although vaccine reactions range from minor or not to temporarily debilitating, it is difficult to expect how your body will respond to the shot. To see what experts say you should do after your COVID vaccine to help treat side effects, read on and for more information on the most common side effects, Moderna caused this reaction in 82 percent of people, says new study .
Not everyone has the ability to take a day off from work, but if you have the opportunity to plan a vacation or sick day after your vaccination, experts say it would be wise to do so, as it is difficult to predict how your body will react. . “People should expect to need 24 to 48 hours of free time,” Neeta Ogden, MD, a specialist and immunologist for internal medicine, told CBS MoneyWatch. “It’s a good idea to listen to your body’s needs and rest when needed, or to slow down and take less responsibility when you’re at work.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), “Side effects can affect your ability to do daily activities, but they will go away within a few days.” If you can not take a day off, experts suggest that you want to schedule your vaccination appointment on a weekend or before a day you are not working to give yourself time to recover. And if you need to recover quickly, you will need it in your diet after your COVID vaccine, warns doctor.
Taking a day off work ahead of time is a precaution if you experience side effects, but Odgen told CBS that “some people do not feel anything.” For those who experience side effects, it can be significant enough to hinder work tasks. According to the CDC, the most common side effects of vaccine are pain and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headaches, muscle aches, chills, fever and nausea. And for more information on how the vaccine keeps you safe, this is how long the Moderna vaccine really protects you, says new study.
If you are getting Pfizer or Moderna, vaccinations that require two doses, research shows that the second dose tends to cause more side effects. According to a April 5 study using data from the CDC’s record-keeping system, v-safe, 70 percent of people experienced injection site reactions after the first dose of Pfizer or Moderna. This number jumped to 75 percent after the second dose. The study also found that 50 percent of recipients of Pfizer or Moderna reported side effects in the rest of their body after the first dose, and 69 percent said the same after the second dose.
However, if you have had COVID, studies have shown that you may have more serious side effects after the first dose, so you should plan accordingly. A February 1 study shared by medRxiv found that those who had COVID created enough antibodies after the first dose because their bodies were already familiar with the virus. “Vaccine recipients with existing immunity experience systemic side effects with a significantly higher frequency than antibody vaccines,” according to the study. And sign up for our daily newsletter for more COVID vaccine news sent directly to your inbox.
Although not required by law, the CDC states that employers should provide “flexible, non-punitive sick leave options (for example, paid sick leave) for employees with signs and symptoms after vaccination.” Ogden told CBS that employers need to be flexible with employees who have to take a day off from work after vaccination so they are not discouraged from getting the vaccine.
“Many employers offer paid leave for COVID-related reasons, including vaccination, and some companies even do it to encourage people to get the vaccine,” Amber Clayton, director of the Knowledge Center at the Society for Human Resource Management, told CBS. And for more essential guidance on vaccines, this common medicine may make your vaccine less effective, study says.