Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccines

May, 2021 - By WMR

13 COVID-19 vaccines till date have received use authorization from regulatory bodies in at least one country, but according to health authorities across the globe, each of the 13 authorized COVID-19 vaccines can cause side effects.

Vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Serum Institute of India, and Bharat Biotech are among the 13 COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the regulatory bodies such as the U.S. FDA, World Health Organization, Drugs Controller General of India, and others for emergency use approval. These vaccines efficacy rate ranges between 76%-96%.

Vaccines are injected into the body to build immunity against the disease by activating T and B lymphocytes. T and B lymphocytes recognize the targeted virus and produce antibodies to fight against it. As the body builds immunity, it is normal that a vaccinated person will experience minor side effects. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the common side effects of COVID-19 vaccine include fever, body aches, headaches, nausea, and fatigue. It is also observed that a vaccinated person may experience swelling, pain, redness, an itchy rash, and other mild forms of irritation around the injection site. These symptoms are often mild and last only for a few days.

In rare cases, a vaccinated person experiences an allergic reaction to one or more ingredients in a vaccine. Anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, is an extremely rare of the rarest side effect of vaccination. According to the CDC, around 2-5 people/million in the U.S. have experienced anaphylaxis after vaccination. This study was conducted by CDC from December 14, 2020 to March 13, 2021. The study is mainly focused on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. This study revealed that those people who experienced anaphylaxis had a history of allergies. This study also reported that in the U.S. 78.7% of adverse events during the first month of vaccination drive involved women.