A 2019 study looking at vaccine adverse events reported to the CDC from 1990 to 2016 found that 80 percent of the reports of severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) involving adults came from women. Let’s educate ourselves but not give in to unfounded fears.īut why might there be a sex or gender difference? Well, I was also interested to discover that gender disparity in vaccine side effects is not a new phenomenon. It’s your immune system reacting to the vaccine, as it should.” Brita Roy, an internal medicine physician and Director of Population Health for Yale Medicine, in a recent YM article. “The COVID-19 vaccination is given in the arm and the closest lymph nodes are the ones under your arm, so that is where the reaction is occurring,” said Dr. Lymph nodes are small bumps of tissue with disease-fighting white blood cells.

For example, some people experience swollen lymph nodes after receiving their shot. And I was reassured to learn that mild physical effects following any vaccination are a sign that the vaccine is working. Furthermore, of the extremely rare cases of death following vaccination (0.0017 percent of people vaccinated with more than 145 million doses between Decemand March 29, 2021), CDC and FDA investigations have revealed no evidence that the vaccination contributed to these deaths.įor comparison, the National Safety Council recently reported that over the course of a lifetime in the United States, an individual has a one in 138,849 chance (.00072 percent) of dying from a lightning strike, a one in 8,248 chance (.012 percent) of dying from sunstroke, and a one in 2,535 chance (.039 percent) of choking to death on food.īut again, the overwhelming number of reactions to the COVID-19 vaccines have been mild. However, the CDC suggests that this type of reaction only occurs in between two to five people per million vaccinated. It is true that, like with any other vaccination, severe allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis may occur. These mild effects include soreness, headache, fatigue, dizziness, chills, and nausea. The most common COVID-19 vaccine side effects are usually mild and last for a short amount of time. Most medicines, including vaccines, produce side effects in some people, usually a very small percentage. Should we be concerned? According to medical experts, the short answer to that question is no. Early data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) indicate that for every 1 million doses of vaccine administered, there were only 45 reports of serious adverse events (.0045 percent) and 372 reports of non-serious adverse events (.0375 percent). To start, I found it reassuring to learn that side effects or adverse events following vaccinations affect a relatively small number of people. Should I be worried about this apparent trend? While the possibility of side effects will not affect my decision to get a life-saving and society-restoring vaccine when I can, understanding what effects I might experience and why they are happening would help to ease any anxiety. In February, the CDC released data on adverse effects during the first month of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, finding that while women received 61 percent of vaccine doses, 72 percent of the side effects reported to the agency were from women. Preliminary data from the earliest vaccinations in December suggest that women are reporting more severe vaccine side effects than men. As I soon discovered after some research, women generally are reporting worse side effects from vaccination. But after a few of my female friends and acquaintances became fatigued and achy after their second doses, I did wonder if I might experience any side effects. The currently available vaccines have all proven highly safe and effective, offering complete protection against severe disease and death.

In case it wasn’t already apparent, I was, and am still very excited about this opportunity to protect myself and my community. Now, I finally can make an appointment to get the vaccine! Ned Lamont announced plans to expand vaccine eligibility to everyone over the age of 16 on April 1. A couple of weeks ago, I received an emoji-laden text from one of my friends, giddy with the news that Connecticut Gov.

Covid vaccine side effect