The most common side effects to expect after your coronavirus vaccine, based on which shot you get

[Muji]

The most common side effects to expect after your coronavirus vaccine, based on which shot you get​

More than 60% of Moderna and Pfizer participants reported fatigue. Nearly 40% of Johnson & Johnson participants reported headaches.

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• Coronavirus vaccines can have similar side effects, but reactions vary slightly.
• Injection-site pain is common after you've had your shot, no matter which one you got.
• More than 60% of participants in Moderna's and Pfizer's trials also reported fatigue.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

It's normal to feel discomfort after a coronavirus shot.

Once a vaccine goes into your arm, blood flow increases and immune cells rush to the scene. This can result in pain at the injection site — the most common side effect of all three US-authorized coronavirus vaccines.

The reaction is more common after Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines than Johnson & Johnson's. Less than 50% of participants in Johnson & Johnson's clinical trial reported pain at the injection site, compared with 92% of Moderna participants and 84% of Pfizer participants.

In AstraZeneca's case, injection-site tenderness was most common, affecting 64% of trial participants. Around 54% of participants reported injection-site pain. (The shot has been authorized in more than 110 countries, but not yet in the US.)

When our immune systems detect the ingredients of a vaccine, they also release inflammatory chemicals to protect us. That's why people can develop a fever, muscle pain, fatigue, or headaches shortly after their shots.

Fatigue was the second most common side effect in Moderna's and Pfizer's trials. Nearly 69% of Moderna participants and 63% of Pfizer participants reported it.

But headaches were slightly more common than fatigue among Johnson & Johnson participants: 39% reported headaches, compared with 38% who reported fatigue.

In AstraZeneca's trial, fatigue and headaches were equally as common: around 53% of participants reported these side effects.

Here's a breakdown of how vaccine side effects differ by age and manufacturer. (Data for Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are based on clinical trials. AstraZeneca's data are based on a small study of nearly 130 vaccine recipients.)

Fatigue and headaches are more common after Pfizer's and Moderna's second dose — but not AstraZeneca's​

A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report examined side effects among more than 1.9 million Americans who'd received both doses of Pfizer's or Moderna's vaccines.

Overall, side effects were slightly more common after both of Moderna's shots than Pfizer's two. And side effects across the board were more numerous and severe after the second dose of either vaccine.

Reports of injection-site pain rose from 68% after dose one of either vaccine to 72% after dose two. Fatigue rose from 31% to 54% from the first to second shot, while headaches rose from 26% to 47%.

Nearly 82% of Moderna recipients reported some reaction at the injection site — pain, redness, itching, or swelling — after their second dose, while 69% of Pfizer recipients said the same. In addition, 60% of Moderna recipients reported fatigue and 53% reported headaches after dose two. After the second dose of Pfizer's shot, 48% of vaccine recipients reported fatigue and 40% reported headaches.

AstraZeneca's shot tends to have worse side effects after the first dose for reasons scientists don't fully understand. Experts say the reaction may have to do with the vaccine's technology, which uses a genetically engineered common-cold virus to introduce a coronavirus gene into the body. That common-cold virus could potentially stimulate a stronger immune response right away.

Muscle pain and fever are more common than gastrointestinal issues​

Muscle pain was among the most common side effects across all four trials.

In Moderna's trial, 60% of participants had muscle pain, while 38% of Pfizer participants reported the symptom. About one-third of Johnson & Johnson participants and 44% of AstraZeneca participants reported muscle pain as well.
Chills were less common but not rare: 43% of people in Moderna's trial reported chills, as did 32% of Pfizer and AstraZeneca participants. Just 2% of Johnson & Johnson participants felt that effect. In both Pfizer's and Moderna's trials, 15% of participants reported fever, compared with 9% in Johnson & Johnson's trial and 8% in AstraZeneca's.

A physician administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

For the most part, gastrointestinal issues like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea weren't commonly associated with Pfizer's or Moderna's shots, but about 14% of Johnson & Johnson participants and 22% of AstraZeneca participants reported nausea.

Side effects were fleeting across all four trials.

The majority of Moderna participants said their side effects started the day they got their shot and lasted two days after each dose. On average, Pfizer participants also experienced side effects one to two days after their shot, with the reaction usually lasting just one day.

Johnson & Johnson participants saw side effects within two days of their injection. On average, fatigue, headache, and muscle pain lasted two days, while nausea and fever lasted one day.

AstraZeneca's side effects usually resolved within a few days as well.

 

[laksaboy]

How about the side effect of death? Not listed?

 

[Leongsam]

How about the side effect of death? Not listed?

That's a main effect not a side effect.

 

[sweetiepie]

KNN my uncle knew it he is a vulnerable KNN only 17% fever also can tio KNN KNN KNN and body muscle ache only 6% also tio KNN KNN KNN but how accurate this data is? KNN add chills and excessive sweating KNN my uncle leelee sibe lum KNN

 

[Hypocrite-The]

How come singkieland don't have enough vaccines to vaccinate everyone? Y need to use such stupid methods?

Delaying second COVID-19 vaccine jab could allow more people in Singapore to be protected and save lives, say experts​

The COVID-19 vaccine being administered at Kolam Ayer Community Club, Singapore, on Apr 21, 2021. (Photo: Marcus Mark Ramos)

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SINGAPORE: Extending the time between COVID-19 vaccine shots could allow more people to be protected earlier and save lives, health experts in Singapore said.
With the first jab already offering good protection against COVID-19, people can “quite safely wait a little longer” for their second jab, the experts told CNA.
One study suggests that this strategy could help reduce infections and deaths if certain conditions are met. A separate study also found that delaying the second jab could boost immune response in some people.

READ: Singapore studying if it should extend the time between COVID-19 vaccine doses: Ong Ye Kung​

This comes after Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Sunday (May 16) that Singapore is studying if it should extend the time between vaccine shots to allow more people to get protection from a first dose.
Facing a limited vaccine supply, the United Kingdom at the end of last year announced that it would delay the second dose by up to 12 weeks after the first dose to maximise the number of people who would at least be partially protected.
So far, Singapore has followed the regime recommended by vaccine manufacturers – the two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are given three weeks apart and the two doses of the Moderna vaccine are given four weeks apart.
International studies have shown that one dose of the vaccine offers "good protection", Mr Ong said, adding that the time between the two doses can be extended to between six weeks and eight weeks without "materially impacting the efficacy of the vaccine".
If the new strategy is implemented, it will take place in phase two of Singapore's vaccination programme.

The first phase of the national vaccine programme has been focused on those who "need it most", Mr Ong said. This includes seniors, who are more vulnerable to severe disease, as well as frontline and essential workers.
Singapore is now approaching phase two of its vaccination exercise, Mr Ong added, with the Ministry of Health (MOH) studying how to proceed.

READ: BioNTech warns against delaying second COVID-19 vaccine dose​

Professor Dale Fisher, senior consultant at the National University Hospital’s division of infectious disease, said increasing the interval between doses is a “good strategy” that is “strongly” supported by scientific studies.
“Even extending (the interval) to 12 weeks suggests ultimately a stronger immune response. At the same time we can get more people vaccinated earlier,” he said.

Professor Paul Tambyah, president of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, said the new strategy could potentially allow Singapore to vaccinate twice as many people while waiting for new supplies.
A larger pool of vaccinated people could be crucial as Singapore battles different variants of the virus, said Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Vice Dean (Global Health) at the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
“If by chance we are not able to contain the spread of B1617 or other future emerging variants, then having a larger proportion of the population vaccinated will save lives and may help reduce the size of the outbreak,” he said.

READ: Commentary: Why many under 45 are hoping vaccination slots open in June​

According to a US predictive modelling study, delaying the second dose among people younger than 65 could lead to fewer people dying of the disease, but only if certain conditions are met, Reuters reported.
The specific conditions include having a vaccine with a one-dose efficacy of at least 80 per cent, and having daily immunisation rates of between 0.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent of a population.
The study, published in the BMR British medical journal, used a simulation model based on a "real-world" sample of 100,000 US adults and ran a series of scenarios to forecast potentially infectious interactions under different conditions.
Assoc Prof Hsu said the difference in efficacy between having one and two jabs is about 10 per cent to 20 per cent, based on different studies, although he noted that having “less protection is better than no protection”.
Nevertheless, Prof Tambyah said there is a risk that incompletely protected individuals could lead to "true vaccine escape mutant strains or variants" that develop in response to the vaccines.
"This has happened with Hepatitis B, with strains of Hepatitis B that can escape current vaccines," he said. "These tend to be less virulent but we do not know if this will be the case with SARS-CoV-2."
SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.
DELAYING SECOND JAB COULD BOOST ANTIBODY RESPONSE
Despite that, a separate UK study showed that in those older than 80 years, delaying the second dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine could boost antibody responses by more than three times after the second jab.
Researchers studied 175 vaccine recipients older than 80 years who received their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine either three weeks or 11 weeks to 12 weeks after the first dose.
The team measured recipients’ levels of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and found that peak antibody levels were 3.5 times higher in those who waited longer for the second dose.
While Assoc Prof Hsu acknowledged that this study has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal yet, he said the results are “promising” and can likely be safely extrapolated to younger individuals.
“No doubt this study and those that showed high vaccine efficacy after a single dose led our MOH to consider a possible alternative strategy,” he said.

READ: FAQ: What you should know about getting infected after COVID-19 vaccination​

Despite that, Associate Professor Richard Sugrue at the Nanyang Technological University’s School of Biological Sciences warned that vaccine efficacy at the population level is still not completely understood.
For instance, Assoc Prof Sugrue questioned how delaying the second jab could affect the likelihood of fully vaccinated individuals spreading the virus, which has been seen in Singapore.
“If this can be demonstrated to be effective in a sufficient number of people in Singapore, this may convince the authorities (to implement the new strategy),” he said.
HOW WILL VACCINE SUPPLY AFFECT THE NEW STRATEGY?
Assoc Prof Hsu said a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines and a rapid spread of infections could also push authorities towards rolling out the new strategy.
“If supplies were truly constrained, which Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has assured is not the case here, then many people could be left with having received only a single dose of vaccine for a prolonged period of time beyond the 12-week mark,” he added.
“But other than the individual perception of incomplete vaccination, at a population level, this is not a bad thing.”
In response to questions on whether a tight supply of COVID-19 vaccines has slowed the pace of vaccination in Singapore, Mr Ong said that the pace is limited by how quickly vaccines arrive in the country.
Prof Fisher believes Singapore is buying as many of the approved vaccines as it possibly can, pointing out that the new strategy is about giving a dose to a person for a first jab, instead of someone else as a second jab.
"Put simply, we want as many people as possible to get their first jabs. Those needing a second jab can quite safely wait a little longer," he said.
Mr Ong said on Sunday that those who already have an appointment for a second jab would not be affected by the new strategy.
While Prof Fisher said communicating the changes in vaccine intervals to people could prove to be a “headache”, he reiterated that the change would lead to decreased transmission and less severe disease.
“We have to move with the evidence,” he stated, citing the studies done on delaying the second jab. “It’s a rapidly changing field. Disease prevalence also influences the timing by which a country adopts new practices.”
Prof Tambyah said it would be good to keep an eye on the data coming out of the UK's strategy, especially as the country has "very good" monitoring of the molecular characteristics of the circulating viruses.
"Of course, it would be ideal if we have enough vaccines but until then, we can see what happens in the UK," he added.

 

[laksaboy]

Those so-called 'experts' keep changing their story, who even bothers to listen to them anymore?

 

[capamerica]

That's a main effect not a side effect.

another pointless stupid opinion

 

[red amoeba]

Delay is the buzz word of PAP. Delay your CPF delay your vaccine and delay your retirement.

 

[syed putra]

Looks like i will just have to wait for indra-zaneca.

 

[ilovechinesegal]

What abt sinovac?

 

[syed putra]

What abt sinovac?

Only the bottom most take sinovac. I heard it turns huis into hans. So i pity indonesia and philippines.

 

[ilovechinesegal]

Only the bottom most take sinovac. I heard it turns huis into hans. So i pity indonesia and philippines.

U are wrong man. Huis are not m&ds. They instill taolism and not fully moslem.