According to a recent study, more people who used Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine reported side effects than those who received the Pfizer shot.
Researchers analyzed reports from more than 3 million vax recipients collected through v-safe, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program that tracks responses to the immunizations.
Nearly 70 percent said they had some reaction at the injection site, such as pain or swelling, and half reported common side effects such as fatigue or chills, the study found.
A higher percentage of participants who received the Moderna vaccine, compared to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, reported reactogenicity; this pattern was more pronounced after the second dose, ”noted the researchers.
Of those who received the Moderna injection, 73 percent said they had an injection site reaction, compared to 65 percent of people who received the Pfizer vaccine, the study found.
Nearly 51 percent of Moderna recipients reported experiencing whole-body symptoms, compared to 48 percent of those who received the Pfizer injection.
The reports came from more than 3.6 million people who received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine before Feb. 21 and completed at least one v-safe health study within seven days of being injected.
The gap widened after the second dose, according to the reports of about 1.9 million people who completed those check-ins after receiving shot No. 2, the study said.
Nearly 82 percent of people who got their second Moderna vaccine had injection site pain, compared to less than 69 percent of those with Pfizer.
Overall, 74 percent of Moderna recipients said they experienced whole-body symptoms, versus 64 percent of people who received the Pfizer vax.
About 40 percent of people with Moderna specifically reported experiencing chills, compared to just 22 percent of Pfizer recipients.
“Data from millions of v-safe participants indicate that injection site pain is common after both the first and second dose of an mRNA-based vaccine,” noted the researchers.
The study was published Monday in the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA.