This email is for COVID-19 vaccinators, stakeholders, and local and tribal health department officers
Potential Systemic Side Effects Occurring after COVID-19 Vaccination
Systemic signs and symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, headache, chills, muscle pain, and joint pain, can occur following COVID-19 vaccination.
Preliminary data from mRNA COVID-19 vaccine trials indicate that most systemic post-vaccination signs and symptoms are mild to moderate in severity. They often occur within the first three days of vaccination (the day of vaccination and the following two days, with most occurring the day after vaccination). Most symptoms resolve within 1-2 days of onset, and are more frequent and severe following the second dose and among younger persons compared to those who are older (>55 years). Below are the frequencies of vaccine side effects observed in the Pfizer and Moderna clinical trials.
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Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine:
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More common: pain at the injection site (84.1%) fatigue (62.9%), and headache (55.1%).
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Less common: muscle pain (38.3%), chills (31.9%), joint pain (23.6%), fever (14.2%), injection site swelling (10.5%), injection site redness (9.5%), nausea (1.1%), malaise (0.5%), and lymphadenopathy (0.3%).
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Moderna COVID-19 vaccine:
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More common: pain at the injection site (92.0%), fatigue (70.0%), headache (64.7%), and muscle pain (61.5%).
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Less common: chills (45.4%), joint pain (46.4%), nausea/vomiting (23.0%), axillary swelling/tenderness (19.8%), fever (15.5%), injection site swelling (14.7%), and injection site redness (10.0%).
Immediate allergic reactions (including anaphylaxis) typically occur within 15-30 minutes of vaccination. Vasovagal reactions typically occur within 15 minutes of vaccination.
Cough, shortness of breath, rhinorrhea, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell are not consistent with post-vaccination symptoms, and instead may be symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 or another infection. Viral testing should be considered if someone has any of these symptoms. CDC has developed guidance for evaluation and management of new-onset systemic post vaccination symptoms occurring in healthcare personnel and in residents of long-term care facilities.
Positive viral (nucleic acid or antigen) tests for SARS-CoV-2, if performed, should not be attributed to the COVID-19 vaccine, as vaccination does not influence the results of these tests.
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