What are the possible side effects of the Covid-19 vaccines?
Pfizer and Moderna both have acknowledged that the vaccines might induce side effects which might feel similar to the symptoms associated with mild Covid-19 or common flu
All around the world, countries are in a race to get fully equipped to distribute the Covid-19 vaccines as early as next month.
But, misinformation and conspiracy theories are reaching the mass just as fast. So, it is important to understand what might be the possible side effects of the vaccines before we take them.
Possible side effects of the vaccine
Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca – all have reported over 90% effectiveness in their vaccines. Once available, the vaccines are likely to be used in two doses around four weeks apart.
There are going to be some rough responses once one shot of the vaccine is received as the body will mount an immune response.
Pfizer and Moderna both have acknowledged that the vaccines might induce side effects which might feel similar to the symptoms associated with mild Covid-19 or common flu. For example, recipients might experience muscle pain, chills and headache, high fever, exhaustion etc.
Jennifer Haller, the first person to receive a shot of Moderna's experimental vaccine on 16 March said that she only experienced mild side-effects as a result, according to a UK-based newspaper The Independent.
"Each time my arm was pretty sore the next day but besides that, I didn't experience any other side effects," Haller said.
California resident, Daniel Horowitz, who participated in Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine trial in September said, "I got a little ache in my muscles, like… I just don't feel right and it went away after that day."
Pfizer's trial is double-blind, meaning neither the doctors and nor the patients know who is receiving the vaccine and who is receiving the placebo so, Mr Horowitz can't tell for sure if he indeed received the vaccine.
The US Department of Health and Human Services says the most common side-effects are a sign that the human body is starting to build immunity against a disease.
"25% to 50% of the people might feel some mild side effects after their first dose," Dr Peter Chin Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, told WVPI-TV, according to the Independent.
"But, after the second one, they may be more people who might feel some of these side effects and they might go away within a day or so."
A total of 30,000 people have been enrolled in Moderna's latest trial of the vaccine while more than 43,500 volunteers from six countries were involved in Pfizer's trial.
Volunteers who received the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine reportedly said that side effects were similar to 'severe hangover.'
