Reaction to COVID-19 Vaccine (or what to be prepared for)

[Grasshopper]

Man this is killing me (figuratively I hope). I know I’m whinging, but I rarely get sick, and here I am experiencing full on flu symptoms along with a slightly discomfortable chest after the 2nd Pfizer. In addition to the sore arm.

Being sick sucks, especially when it’s fake sickness meant to train your immune system.

I guess this post doesn’t have much purpose other than therapy. So what did the physicsforums.com community experience after being vaccinated?

I don’t expect many replies if any, but hopefully I’ll have someone besides my girlfriend to comfort my sadness, via reading worse reactions than mine.

I kid I kid.

 

[Grasshopper]

(This added about a month after this thread opened: It turns out I'm a real outlier for side effects to the vaccine, so don't let this post scare you off. My wife says every time I catch a cold or something that it hits me hard. Of course to me that is 'normal.' )

A few days ago a neighbor, my wife, and I received the 2^nd dose of the Moderna vaccine.

Here is a log of my after-effects. I'll try to keep this updated for any significant news.

Hour
0 - Received second dose of Moderna vaccine. As in the first one, didn't even feel the needle or the injection.
1 - Slight soreness in arm muscle.
2 - Sleepy, nap 2hrs, wakened by scam phone call.
6 - Sleepy, go to bed 5hrs early. Arm too sore to sleep on but otherwise not bothersome.
13 - Wake up shivering from cold. Room not cold, start of fever.
17 - Wake up hot. Throw off covers and back to sleep. (fever broke?)
20 - Wake up hot. Throw covers off. (fever broke?) get up after 14hrs sleep. (normal 8.5hrs.)
-- - Lack of energy, brain fog, low appetite.
24 - Temperature about 2.3°F high, but feeling somewhat better. Pulse 101 (usually 63 resting).
25 - Go out to pick up new eye glasses.
26 - Tired. Temperature about 2.7°F high.
-- - Read (some of) newspaper, check PF and Google News.
30 - Sleepy, bed time, again 5 hrs early. Pulse 93.
43 - Wake up, feel OK, temperature normal. Read rest of yesterdays newspaper. Pulse a normal 63.
48 - Wife and I do some shopping & errands.
52 - We are exhausted!
53 - Home, dinner, newspaper, PF .
56 - Tired, temperature normal, post this log. (& maybe check Google news)

edit:
Day 3 -
-- - Awoke 2hrs short of sleep. Hot, threw covers off but couldn't sleep. After 1/2 hr got up, all vitals normal. Appetite normal.
-- - Arm no longer sore.
-- - Tired, low energy, foggy brain all day.
/edit:

edit:
Day 4 -
-- - Normal sleep, mild low energy but got things done, mid afternoon 2hr. nap though.
-- - 'Loose bowels' much of the day, wife had that late yesterday.
/edit:

edit:
Day 18 -
-- - Mild hair loss noted when combing hair in the morning. This tapered off and resolved itself over 7 to 10 days.
/edit:

Of the three of us, I had the heaviest reaction to the vaccine. We all slept the afternoon of the shot and all of us were too tired to do much of anything the following day. My wife had a mild fever of about 1°F and the neighbor claimed no fever.

None of us took anything for symptom relief.

In the end it shows that our immune systems REALLY recognize the spike protein on SARS-COV-2!
It also shows that I REALLY REALLY don't want the real thing.

Cheers,
Tom

p.s. Don't be too concerned about my 'high' fever, my normal body temp is 1 to 1.4 degrees F below 'normal'.

edit:
added pulse rates
/edit:

Man I’m feeling some of this with Pfizer. Sucks. You have my sympathies for your dilemma.

 

[berkeman]

Man this is killing me

Yeah, the reactions to each of the vaccinations varies a lot. I'm active on a Medic forum where we have a thread about our reactions, and I can tell you that the reactions are all over the map. It's just the way it goes, but the bottom line is that the reactions are not too bad (compared to getting COVID-19), and usually even the worst go away in a couple of days.

My first Moderna vax just resulted in a sore deltoid muscle for two days, and my second vax gave me a couple hours of a mild fever and chills overnight. My wife had no reaction to her first vax, and was sick as a dog for two days in bed from her second vax. All is well now, and we both are enjoying the re-opening stage of this pandemic...

 

[Jarvis323]

Man this is killing me (figuratively I hope). I know I’m whinging, but I rarely get sick, and here I am experiencing full on flu symptoms along with a slightly discomfortable chest after the 2nd Pfizer. In addition to the sore arm.

Being sick sucks, especially when it’s fake sickness meant to train your immune system.

I guess this post doesn’t have much purpose other than therapy. So what did the physicsforums.com community experience after being vaccinated?

I don’t expect many replies if any, but hopefully I’ll have someone besides my girlfriend to comfort my sadness, via reading worse reactions than mine.

I kid I kid.

If you have chest tightness or pain, you should seek medical attention asap.

 

[vela]

I don’t expect many replies if any, but hopefully I’ll have someone besides my girlfriend to comfort my sadness, via reading worse reactions than mine.

I kid I kid.

You know the old saying: misery loves company.

In my family, only my brother experienced a strong reaction to the vaccine (both shots), but then, he had COVID a few months earlier. His wife said the second dose kicked her in the butt. A colleague, I heard, was wiped out for five days or so after the second dose. Most of my students who got the second dose said they experienced various side effects, mostly chills and headaches, but it was generally over in a day or two. A friend at Berkeley had double the fun: strong reactions to both doses. A former student told me she felt like she got hit by a train after the second dose.

 

[berkeman]

along with a slightly discomfortable chest

If you have chest tightness or pain, you should seek medical attention asap.

Yeah, what exactly does this mean? Congestion, pain? On a scale of 0-10, what level is that pain?

 

[symbolipoint]

Man this is killing me (figuratively I hope). I know I’m whinging, but I rarely get sick, and here I am experiencing full on flu symptoms along with a slightly discomfortable chest after the 2nd Pfizer. In addition to the sore arm.

Being sick sucks, especially when it’s fake sickness meant to train your immune system.

I guess this post doesn’t have much purpose other than therapy. So what did the physicsforums.com community experience after being vaccinated?

I don’t expect many replies if any, but hopefully I’ll have someone besides my girlfriend to comfort my sadness, via reading worse reactions than mine.

I kid I kid.

No reaction for me from both doses , vaccination for Covid19.

Definite flu-like side-effects from both doses vaccinations for another kind of viral disease, lasting of side-effects being only 8 to 10 hours - then gone.

You SHOULD expect that your side-effects from your Covid-19 vaccinations should also be very short-lived.

 

[Grasshopper]

Yeah, what exactly does this mean? Congestion, pain? On a scale of 0-10, what level is that pain?

Close to zero, and mostly when I lay a certain way, or when I take too deep of a breath. It could be entirely in my head, or just me squishing things, but I’m monitoring it.

I’ll probably swing by an urgent care Monday (and ER if anything at all starts feeling weird).

 

[bhobba]

Yeah, the reactions to each of the vaccinations varies a lot.

It sure does. I just got a sore arm, the same as when I get the Flu shot. Speaking to the disability workers who gave me a hand, they had to alter their vaccine strategy. About half were off for a few days, sometimes longer, after vaccination. To have enough working staff, they had to stagger it instead of vaccinating all quickly.

Thanks
Bill

 

[bhobba]

If you have chest tightness or pain, you should seek medical attention asap.

For those that got the AZ or J&J (i.e. adenovirus vaccines), be on the lookout for the following:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-14/vaccine-covid19-do-i-have-a-blood-clot-astrazeneca/100065914

See your doctor ASAP. In Aus, we are finding a greater number than overseas, but our death rate from it is just 4%, not 20%. This suggests early detection is critical for this infrequent side effect. I do not think, on this forum, I need to mention that getting vaccinated is more important than waiting for a vaccine that does not have this side effect. At least as far as we can determine today - you can still get it with other vaccines like Pfizer - but it seems to be about the same prevalence as the background number of cases estimated to be .41 in a million in an 8 week period.

Thanks
Bill

 

[Jarvis323]

Close to zero, and mostly when I lay a certain way, or when I take too deep of a breath. It could be entirely in my head, or just me squishing things, but I’m monitoring it.

I’ll probably swing by an urgent care Monday (and ER if anything at all starts feeling weird).

I had chest discomfort when laying on one side and tightness/pressure in chest when breathing, and also some heart palpations. I went to the ER and got back results recently saying right atrial enlargement, which seems pretty serious.

My chest wasn't so much painful at all at first, just some pressure, and when breathing in sometimes it would cause a caugh. Then my stomach started feeling bloated.

This started 7 days after the second dose of the moderna vaccine. However, I had moderate Covid over a year ago and it left a lingering lung/throat internal burning sensation that hasn' gone away and I'm wondering of that could have been the cause.

Then again maybe the rae result was a typo or mistake or I read it wrong. As you can expect I've been pretty nervous about it for the last few days while I wait for clarification.

Anyways, if you have any hint of a heart problem at all, you should see a doctor.

 

[Borek]

Both of us two times Pfizer. Aching arms both times - for about two days.

After the second dose I had sore back, but I have no idea if it was a vaccine or my years showing up, I have similar soreness each time I need to do some physical work around the house. Didn't bother.

Marzena reacted to the second dose a bit worse, she have spent a day in a bed reading. Not that she felt THAT bad, but she is retired so she can afford doing nothing and resting, and side effects are quite a solid reason ;)

 

[atyy]

I don’t expect many replies if any, but hopefully I’ll have someone besides my girlfriend to comfort my sadness, via reading worse reactions than mine.

I kid I kid.

 

[Grasshopper]

I had chest discomfort when laying on one side and tightness/pressure in chest when breathing, and also some heart palpations. I went to the ER and got back results recently saying right atrial enlargement, which seems pretty serious.

My chest wasn't so much painful at all at first, just some pressure, and when breathing in sometimes it would cause a caugh. Then my stomach started feeling bloated.

This started 7 days after the second dose of the moderna vaccine. However, I had moderate Covid over a year ago and it left a lingering lung/throat internal burning sensation that hasn' gone away and I'm wondering of that could have been the cause.

Then again maybe the rae result was a typo or mistake or I read it wrong. As you can expect I've been pretty nervous about it for the last few days while I wait for clarification.

Anyways, if you have any hint of a heart problem at all, you should see a doctor.

Was if discomfort that you could easily forget about or was it worse?

 

[Grasshopper]

Man this is killing me (figuratively I hope). I know I’m whinging, but I rarely get sick, and here I am experiencing full on flu symptoms along with a slightly discomfortable chest after the 2nd Pfizer. In addition to the sore arm.

Being sick sucks, especially when it’s fake sickness meant to train your immune system.

I guess this post doesn’t have much purpose other than therapy. So what did the physicsforums.com community experience after being vaccinated?

I don’t expect many replies if any, but hopefully I’ll have someone besides my girlfriend to comfort my sadness, via reading worse reactions than mine.

I kid I kid.

Fever broke last night. Still sore and have a cough, though. Still going to a doctor Monday just in case the mild chest pain was real and not just me squishing my lungs and chest.

 

[Jarvis323]

Was if discomfort that you could easily forget about or was it worse?

I easily ignored it for 3 days or so then it got worse. Once I read that some people were getting myocarditis, it caused me more concern. If I didn't read that I probably would have completely ignored it. On pain scale I only gave it a 1 or 2 if it could even be called pain.

 

[Grasshopper]

I easily ignored it for 3 days or so then it got worse. Once I read that some people were getting myocarditis, it caused me more concern. If I didn't read that I probably would have completely ignored it. On pain scale I only gave it a 1 or 2 if it could even be called pain.

Thanks for the info. Will definitely be at the doctor's office as soon as they open.

 

[artis]

A close friend of mine got the Johnson single shot vaccine few days ago.
He also drank alcohol the evening after he got the vaccine on the same day. The next day he felt Covid like symptoms, sweating and cold one after the other, increased temperature , dizziness (although this could have also been increased due to hangover) and overall weakness. He still managed to do a quick work and then went back to rest. All symptoms disappeared the next day.

 

[pinball1970]

A close friend of mine got the Johnson single shot vaccine few days ago.
He also drank alcohol the evening after he got the vaccine on the same day. The next day he felt Covid like symptoms, sweating and cold one after the other, increased temperature , dizziness (although this could have also been increased due to hangover) and overall weakness. He still managed to do a quick work and then went back to rest. All symptoms disappeared the next day.

I managed to get my second jab moved forward via an NHS e-mail received on Friday.
New date was Sunday gone BUT I had already arranged to meet friends on the Sat.
Session/Hangover was not severe but reaction after the jab was not great, light headed, dizzy, wiped out.
Not quite like flu like symptoms from first jab but approaching that.
Tired, sore arm, today and avoiding alcohol for a bit.

 

[pinball1970]

We are all lab rats for the pharma cos.

Rather than just posting a claim during a pandemic, can you provide evidence that the vaccines have not been properly tested?

 

[pinball1970]

Why the adverse reactions then.

Can you be specific? You do realize drugs can have side effects? Ever been to the chemist picked up a prescription and read the list of potential side effects in the literature?

 

[symbolipoint]

Why the adverse reactions then.

Already known is that not everyone reacts the same. I know personally three people who've been fully vaccinated. No reactions. A few others (I do not know them - yet) maybe some reactions. Some source may have statistics on the vaccination reactions to show us.

 

[symbolipoint]

Can you be specific? You do realize drugs can have side effects? Ever been to the chemist picked up a prescription and read the list of potential side effects in the literature?

Interesting question, and we should do this reading every time we have a vaccination, but so many of us simply do not. I routinely have had flu vaccination, annually, and almost never had any side effects. One day I received an additional vaccination for a very different disease, and figured nothing would happen (like as no side effects), but several hours later upon having chills and fever, I thought maybe I should read what that literature the pharmacist gave me has to say.

 

[bhobba]

Why the adverse reactions then.

It's how vaccine development works. From basic statistics, infrequent complications can not be picked up by testing in normal numbers. Vaccine developers did normal stage 3 testing of about 30,000. It is usually handled after normal testing by those most at risk being the first to get it. Then once more have used it, more is given the vaccine and so on. We only picked up the current rare problems when millions of doses were given. The chance of dying is about the same as dying while driving to get the vaccine. We know the vaccine is the only way out, so people must have the option to use it. When you have a pandemic like this, people are only too happy to be in the initial group on a risk vs reward basis. It has happened before with the 1976 flu vaccine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/long-shadow-1976-swine-flu-vaccine-fiasco-180961994/

The only consolation is, even though the Flu that year was not as bad as thought, the lives saved may have been greater than the problems that occurred - but I have never seen an analysis. Back of the envelope calculations based on an about .1% death rate of normal flu indicate it may have.

Thanks
Bill

 

[pinball1970]

Interesting question, and we should do this reading every time we have a vaccination, but so many of us simply do not. I routinely have had flu vaccination, annually, and almost never had any side effects. One day I received an additional vaccination for a very different disease, and figured nothing would happen (like as no side effects), but several hours later upon having chills and fever, I thought maybe I should read what that literature the pharmacist gave me has to say.

One thing that impressed me before both jabs was that the side effects were spelled out. This included the risk of clotting by staff when I was registering and again by the nurse when I was having the jab.

 

[bhobba]

Generally, development of a vaccine takes several months to years. The reason for the delay is extensive testing before administering it to public.

The stage 3 testing numbers were pretty normal. I will not go into what was done more quickly, but it was of no issue as far as public safety is concerned - the safety of those participating in trials was maybe higher, but they were all volunteers. After that, it goes into stage 4, where it is approved for normal use, but usually, only a small number of high-risk people take up the offer (those in nursing homes etc., where the death rate was horrendous). More people would have had the vaccine, so even more confidence is gained. The issue was before people found the infrequent side effects, tons wanted it. It is their choice - we live in a free society. But really, unless in the high-risk group, they should have waited a little bit. In fact, here in Aus, that is how they planned it, and as more used it, infrequent side effects emerged. Then people overreacted. Although the risk of death is about the same as the risk of dying while driving to get the vaccine, many people are scared. The real issue is people need a better understanding of risk vs reward.

Thanks
Bill

 

[Grasshopper]

We are all lab rats for the pharma cos.

More like we’re in a pandemic and desperate times call for desperate measures.EDIT - oh yeah, those of us who waited a few months got to see a bunch more human testing than presumably is done before approval, utilizing our fellow humans getting the vaccines as soon as they were available as trail subjects.

 

[pinball1970]

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html

https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...ine-under-60s-after-teenager-dies-2021-06-11/

The vaccine rollout has been too early to be true. Generally, development of a vaccine takes several months to years. The reason for the delay is extensive testing before administering it to public.

Plenty of threads on here regarding the vaccines. Search, Covid 19, Covid vaccines.
Thread 'Pfizer/Moderna Covid vaccine research papers' https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/pfizer-moderna-covid-vaccine-research-papers.997193/

 

[bhobba]

EDIT - oh yeah, those of us who waited a few months got to see a bunch more human testing than presumably is done before approval, utilizing our fellow humans getting the vaccines as soon as they were available as trail subjects.

I don't know what happened in the US, but in the UK and Australia, that is the way the government designed its rollout. First, the very high-risk age care facilities, the frontline workers and so on. The UK seemed to pull it off, but in Aus, it totally fizzled - even now, some disability and front care workers are not vaccinated. We are recovering from our blunders, and I think we will be finished by years end. However, they discovered infrequent problems with our main vaccine, AZ. The Pfizer was meant for aged care, front line workers etc. because it only had three weeks between first and second shots. That means front line workers can return to duties quicker, and aged care residents can have family etc, visit them sooner - they have had it hard as far as visits go. People, however, have overreacted to the dangers of AZ and are demanding Pfizer. The government has not told the public exactly how much Pfizer it has, so nobody really knows if people can be given a choice. Yet everyone says people should be given a choice. It has become a bit irrational, really. I got the AZ without a second thought. Nobody worries about getting into their car and going to the shops, so why worry about the vaccine. But many do.

Thanks
Bill

 

[Laroxe]

Its surprising how many people seem to believe that vaccine development needs to follow some sort of ritual developed in the 1960's. Its surprising how many things in medicine have changed, largely because of research and when you look at the funding that was pumped into research used in the vaccine development, if this hadn't changed I'd be wanting my money back. In fact many of the new technologies used in the Covid 19 vaccines were already being used in other development work, simply switching the methods onto this virus saved a huge amount of time, the timescales used in trials were also reduced by combining some of the early stages. The risks of doing this are risks to the developing companies as candidates might be rejected at a later stage wasting lots of money, government funding allowed the companies to take these risks but the basic trial requirements remain the same.
Its also surprising that some people seem to believe that the occurrence of rare adverse events in a mass vaccination campaign has only ever occurred with the Covid 19 vaccine, in fact when you vaccinate millions of people you frequently encounter such events. I can't think of a vaccine that hasn't been associated with some adverse events. Some people seem to believe that this provides a rational for refusing vaccination, this is when there are still around half a million deaths in Africa, usually in children, from vaccine preventable diseases when maybe one or two might indeed suffer serious adverse effects.

 

[Tom.G]

OP edited to add Day 30 and Day 110.

edit:
Day 30 - (approximately)
Finally back to 'normal' after about a month of low energy and extra sleep. These effects tapered off over the month until I realized "Hey! I feel OK."

Day 110 - (approximately)
Noticed my finger nails and toe nails are brittle and break easily. Nail trimming caused the nails to shatter rather than the usual clean cut. This happened for only one trimming and then returned to normal.
/edit:

 

[artis]

@Tom.G that sounds like a weird effect. I think such rare effects would be hard to trace back to either vaccine or anything else for that matter. But I'm not saying it can't be.

 

[Grasshopper]

Wish there was a way to separate correlation from causation here.

 

[Astronuc]

Day 110 - (approximately)
Noticed my finger nails and toe nails are brittle and break easily. Nail trimming caused the nails to shatter rather than the usual clean cut. This happened for only one trimming and then returned to normal.

I've had brittle toe nails, but not fingernails. It could be diet and dehydration, possibly in conjunction with other effects related to aging, or just lack of moisture.

Only very rarely are internal disease or vitamin deficiencies the reason (iron deficiency is the most common). One tip is that if the fingernails split, but the toenails are strong, then an external factor is the cause. Basically brittle nails can be divided into dry and brittle (too little moisture) and soft and brittle (often too much moisture).

The usual cause is repeated wetting and drying of the fingernails. This makes them dry and brittle. This is often worse in low humidity and in the winter (dry heat). The best treatment is to apply lotions containing alpha-hydroxy acids or lanolin containing lotions such as "Elon" (by the "Dartmouth" company) to the nails after first soaking nails in water for 5 minutes.

https://www.aocd.org/page/BrittleSplittingNail

 

[russ_watters]

OP edited to add Day 30 and Day 110.

Have you consulted a doctor about any of that?