David Flores, an emergency nurse at UCSD, received the second dose of Pfizer vaccine on Thursday. Unlike the first dose, it had side effects.
“My hips killed me,” Flores said. ‘I therefore had difficulty sleeping. I could not get comfortable. My back, knees and ankles are sore. ”
Flores said many of his co-workers shared similar experiences.
“This is something we have observed in clinical trials,” said Dr. Edward Cachay, an infectious disease specialist at UCSD, said. ‘When people receive the second dose, they get the second enhancer to achieve maximum effectiveness. By boosting the immune system, people generally develop joint pain and low-grade fever that usually last 24 to 48 hours. ”
According to Pfizer, approximately 3.8% of their participants in clinical trials experienced fatigue as a side effect and 2% experienced headaches.
Moderna says 9.7% of their participants felt tired and 4.5% had headaches.
But despite the side effects, Dr Cachay says it is extremely important that patients receive the second dose of the vaccine.
“When you receive the first shot, you are only 51% protected, so you need the second dose to get the 95% against COVID-19,” he said.
Despite the joint pain, Flores says he undoubtedly made the right decision to continue with the vaccine.
“It’s the least of two evils,” Flores said. “Just being sick and dead for a day or so or being sick for months or days is a pretty good compromise.”
Dr. Cachay adds that patients do not reach maximum immunity until 10 to 14 days after the second dose.
According to UCSD officials, they have already given the vaccine to about 10,000 workers. Many of them have already started receiving the second dose.
They add that only 3% of employees turned down the vaccine.