Sore arm and headache are the most common side effects of COVID-19 vaccine shots, study shows.
The demand and supply for the COVID-19 vaccine continue to increase these past few weeks. It is not surprising, though, considering that the pandemic crisis has yet to end.
While the enthusiasm over the vaccine shots remains apparent, there is reportedly an increasing challenge in administering them to each and every member of society. As it happens, hesitancy toward the vaccine is looming over many countries across the globe.
One possible factor is the reported side effects of the vaccine shots. Health officials, like those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have previously listed all potential side effects. But, Healthline said that a new study shows only one in four individuals “actually experience them.”
Most people did not experience side effects
Researchers from the United Kingdom utilized the data from a COVID-19 symptom app. It allowed them to monitor the reported side effects of more than 627,000 individuals who received the COVID-19 vaccine shots.
Based on the results published in the journal, The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Wednesday, only one in every four individuals reported experiencing a systemic side effect. These include fatigue and headache.
Nevertheless, the study found out that local side effects were more common. These effects include tenderness and pain “near the injection site.”
Common side effects of COVID-19 vaccine shots
The reported side effects are included in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list. In its official website, the common side effects include pain, redness, and swelling on the injection site.
Other potential common side effects “throughout the rest of the body” include tiredness, fever, nausea, chills, muscle pain, and headache.
Despite this, CDC notes that the COVID-19 vaccine will help protect people from contracting the deadly virus. While some may experience the side effects, others will not. Even so, these are said to be “normal signs.”
Side effects are “a standard part of vaccination”
Time released a similar report, explaining why side effects are “totally expected” and normal. They are a “standard part” of the process, Dr. Stanley Perlman, who is a member of the vaccine advisory committee in the U.S. FDA, said.
Although the effects are “temporarily uncomfortable,” they are proof that the body is responding. Moreover, they show that there is a “mounting” of an immune response.
Perlman pointed out, however, that not all are due to the COVID-19 vaccine. Some individuals may reportedly experience health problems “following but unrelated to the vaccine.”
Images (1) & (2) courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO)/YouTube