Doctors are warning you to ‘prepare’ after your second dose

With the COVID vaccine rollout now well underway, more than 68,000,000 doses have reportedly been administered across the U.S. This is promising news not only for our eventual safety and return to normalcy, but also for the sake of data collection: with a much larger pool of vaccinees. individuals than the initial test groups provided, we learn a lot about what to expect from the vaccine itself. In particular, there is a common experience that doctors now say people should “prepare for”: Many vaccinees have reported that the second dose caused more side effects than the first. Read on to find out more about what to expect and for more essential vaccine information, the CEO of Pfizer says this is how often you’ll need a COVID vaccine.

Although the evidence from the United States is currently anecdotal, a study conducted in the United Kingdom found that the second dose of the COVID vaccine does indeed produce higher rates of side effects. The researchers looked at data from 40,000 subjects, more than 12,000 of whom received both doses of the vaccine, and found that the rate of side effects increased the second time around. After a single dose, 37% of recipients reported local side effects, including pain or swelling near the injection site, and 12% reported at least one side effect all over their body within days of their injection. . After the second dose, these numbers increased: 45% reported experiencing local side effects and 22% reported broader effects.

Doctors say this escalation in side effects makes sense, given how vaccines work. “The second vaccine [dose]- think it affected your immune system, and your immune system now recognizes the vaccine, so it does its job, ” Kavita patel, MD, an NBC News medical contributor recently said Al roker. “Just be prepared,” she said, adding that she had personally experienced side effects after her own second dose of the COVID vaccine.

Bill Moss, MD, pediatrician and professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore agreed with Patel’s assessment. “The second dose is really like a booster dose,” he says. “The immune system sees the vaccine for the first time with the first dose and responds to it, and cells of the immune system are recruited to sort of recognize this spike protein (the part of the coronavirus affected by the vaccine). So when the body’s immune system sees [the vaccine] the second time around, there are more cells and there is a more intense immune response, which causes these side effects, ”Moss explained.

However, if you don’t experience side effects, this is also quite normal. “If you don’t have a reaction, you don’t have to worry that it didn’t work,” Patel explained. “Every human and every body is different.” Read on for everything you need to know about potential side effects and for promising news on another vaccine, this other vaccine may already protect you from COVID, study finds.

The most commonly reported side effects after COVID vaccination are pain or swelling at the injection site, chills, headache, fever and fatigue, according to the CDC. The bright side? Most people who experience these symptoms say their reactions have been mild to moderate and get better with the help of over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. And for the latest COVID news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

White House COVID adviser Anthony Fauci, MD, vaccine side effects also tend to be short lived. You can expect your discomfort to last up to 48 hours, with most side effects ending after 24 hours. And for more vaccination advice, Dr Fauci says you’ll easily get an appointment for a vaccine after that date.

Like the UK, the US has a strong vaccine surveillance system to track potential side effects. If you experience any discomfort, the CDC asks you to enter your symptoms into the v-safe app, a program designed to collect data during deployment. Once you’ve signed up, you can expect post-appointment health checks and “depending on your answers, someone from the CDC may call you to check on you and get more information,” explains the health authority.

While it is true that some side effects are quite common after vaccination, there are also several myths about side effects. Some have mistakenly suggested that the COVID vaccine can alter a person’s DNA or infect you with coronavirus. These claims are patently false and scientifically impossible, according to the Mayo Clinic and other experts. And for more on vaccine side effects, Dr Fauci says these 2 side effects mean your COVID vaccine is working.