·
All three US-authorized coronavirus
vaccines can bring mild to moderate side effects.
·
Johnson & Johnson's shot
generally has fewer side effects than Pfizer's and Moderna's.
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Older people had fewer side effects
than younger adults across all three clinical trials.
If you're getting vaccinated, expect a sore arm.
Pain at the injection site is the most common side effect of
all three coronavirus vaccines authorized in the US.
In general, the vaccines produce mild to moderate side
effects that shouldn't last more than a few days. Side effects typically show
up within 12 to 24 hours of getting the shot. They're often a sign that the
body is building immunity to the virus.
"It's important to remember: When people get side
effects from vaccines, it's not really because of the vaccine. It's more of the
body's immune response to the vaccine," Dr. Vivek Cherian, an
internal-medicine physician in Baltimore, told Insider.
Scroll through the chart below to see which side effects are
common based on your age group, which manufacturer's vaccine you get, and
whether you're on dose one or two. In general, older people experience fewer
side effects than younger adults because immune responses gradually weaken with
age. For Pfizer's and Moderna's two-shot vaccines, the second shot amplifies an
existing immune response, so people typically feel more run-down after that
dose.
Vaccines prompt our bodies to produce coronavirus
antibodies. But since our immune systems can't distinguish between a real
infection and a vaccine-induced response, they still release inflammatory
chemicals to protect us. That's why people can develop a fever, muscle pain,
fatigue, or headaches shortly after their shots.
Johnson & Johnson's shot has the fewest side
effects
Across the board, Johnson & Johnson's shot has milder
and fewer side effects than the other two. Some experts suspect that's because
it's a single shot.
Nearly 62% of participants younger than 59 in Johnson &
Johnson's trial reported side effects, compared with 45% of people ages 60 and
up.
That's relatively similar to the reported side effects after
one dose of Moderna's vaccine: About 57% of people younger than 65 in that
trial developed side effects, compared with 48% of those older than 65. But
after the second Moderna dose, nearly 82% of people in the younger group
reported side effects, compared with nearly 72% of older adults.
But Johnson & Johnson's shot also seems to be less
effective overall: Clinical trials suggest the vaccine is 66% effective at
preventing COVID-19. Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines are each more than 90%
effective. But it's difficult to compare the companies' trials side by side
because they happened at different stages in the pandemic and in different
geographic regions.
Common side effects include fatigue and headache
Once a vaccine goes into your arm, your blood flow increases
and immune cells rush to the scene. This can result in pain, redness, or
swelling at the injection site.
The reaction is more common after Pfizer's and Moderna's
vaccines than after Johnson & Johnson's. Across all age groups, 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.
Headache and fatigue were also relatively common across all
the trials. About 63% of Moderna participants reported headaches, compared with
55% of Pfizer participants and 39% of Johnson & Johnson's.
About 69% of people in Moderna's trial and 63% in Pfizer's
reported fatigue. Just 38% of participants reported fatigue in Johnson &
Johnson's trial, but the prevalence of those side effects varied by age.
Younger adults had more side effects, with a few exceptions
Just a few side effects appear to be more or equally as
common among older participants as younger ones.
After dose two of Pfizer's vaccine, joint paint was equally
common in the two groups, with about 22 to 23% reporting the effect. But after
dose two of Moderna's vaccine, body or muscle aches were more common among
adults ages 66 and up (47%) than younger adults (6%).
Though older adults tend to have fewer side effects overall,
experts say there's no reason to believe vaccines won't work as well among them.
"For the COVID-19 vaccine, we've actually not seen
decreased effectiveness as we get older, so that's actually a really good
thing," Cherian said.
And younger people shouldn't worry too much about feeling
strong side effects, he added.
"Dealing with a few side effects of some diarrhea or
some muscle aches is a much, much better thing to get than some of those
serious, potentially life-threatening side effects of the COVID-19
infection," Cherian said.
The
coronavirus pandemic
·
Of
the 1.7 million people who are fully vaccinated in Michigan, 246 people tested positive for COVID-19.
·
Dr.
Fauci says vaccines likely
work against coronavirus variants: "I don't believe that
there's anything to panic about."
·
Biden
announces that all US adults
will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by April 19.
·
A "double
mutant" coronavirus variant found in India was spotted in
California — but there's no evidence it's "doubly scary."
·
Why
you can expect more severe vaccine side effects if you're
younger or a woman.
Get the latest coronavirus
business & economic impact analysis from Business Insider
Intelligence on how COVID-19 is affecting industries.
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