Since December, when the news broke that two COVID-19 vaccines were approaching emergency use authorization, we had all been warned to expect possible side effects from our shots as our body built up immunity to the new coronavirus. Although, with everyone having very common symptoms, those patients who have been vaccinated but who have not experienced any side effects may wonder if their lack of response is worrying. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s official guidance on vaccines points out that “some people have no side effects.” But what exactly does it mean when your shot releases your side effects? Read on to find out, and for more information on what to do after the admission, check out The CDC says you should not take it to your vaccine without a doctor’s OK.
Vaccines work by introducing and encouraging your immune system to a new infection to recognize and fight the disease if you actually encounter it later. Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines contain a string of genetic material called mRNA. If it enters your cells, it causes them to make a piece of the protein in the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Although it does not harm your body or cause COVID-19 infection, it does cause your immune system to think that it is being attacked, and responds to its fight against it. Your healthy cells then overwhelm those that have repeated the vein protein, and during this exchange, antibodies specific for COVID-19 are generated that provide you with future protection.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, meanwhile, was created using a non-replicating adenoviral vector, in which a small piece of COVID genetic material was inserted into an attenuated version of the cold virus, altered to enter cells , but not within them, the pharmaceutical company explain. It teaches your immune system again to make antibodies against the coronavirus so that you will be able to fight the real virus more effectively later. And subscribe to our daily newsletter for more COVID news delivered directly to your inbox.
Since the American public offers so much reassurance that the side effects of vaccines are not necessary, those without it may worry that a lack of side effects indicates that the vaccine is not working as effectively. But doctors say that is not the case. “If you get this vaccine and do not experience any side effects, it does not mean that it does not start a strong immune response,” he explained. Wendell Hoffman, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Sanford Health, in an article on the healthcare company’s website.
Leana Wen, MD, a practicing physician and active columnist for The Washington Postreassure readers, “People respond differently to vaccines. Some experience side effects – this is normal and is a sign that the body is producing an immune response that will help fight COVID-19 if exposed in the future. Some others do not have side effects. This is also normal and there is no reason to believe that the vaccine is less effective for them. ‘And for more information on the latest side effects discussed, check out The CDC Just Warned of 3 New Vaccine Side Effects.
Although much information has focused on the side effects that people can expect after vaccination, those without sore arms or pain have expressed pain about their lack of side effects. On the Cleveland Clinic website, one person wrote and asked, “If you do not experience any symptoms, does that mean the vaccine or your immune system is not working?”
In response Thaddeus Stappenbeck, Managing Director, Chair of the Department of Inflammation and Immunity at the Lerner Research Institute of Cleveland Clinic, explained: ‘If you look at the statistics of the trials, most people had no side effects. Just over 50 percent did not experience any side effects at all and remember, they are still 94 percent protected after receiving the vaccination. So you do not have to worry if you have no symptoms after your COVID-19 vaccinations. “
Stappenbeck added that he hopes further investigations will show why people respond differently to the virus. “With so many people being vaccinated, the medical community is very interested in why some people are experiencing all of the symptoms while others are not,” he wrote. “It simply came to our notice then. At the moment we do not understand it. ‘But,’ he added, ‘the most important vaccines approved for emergency use are effective whether or not you have side effects – and you do not have to feel terrible to prove that you are protected against COVID-19. And for more information on a strange reaction that has surfaced, check with Doctors that you ‘need to be prepared’ for this delayed side effect of the vaccine.
If you do have side effects, the CDC says they will occur in two varieties. First, the localized response to the injection itself, in the form of pain, redness and swelling. And secondly, a reaction to the whole body, which usually occurs as fever, chills, fatigue, headache, muscle aches or nausea. “In most cases, discomfort due to fever or pain is normal,” they write. However, they say there are two situations in which you should call your doctor: “If the redness or tenderness gets worse after 24 hours,” or: “If your side effects worry you or do not seem to go away after a few days.” And for the side effects that occur especially with the latest vaccine, look at These are the side effects of the New Johnson & Johnson vaccine, says the FDA.