“I had my chance at 10:30 AM and then I woke up at midnight. I had a high fever and my bones… It felt like sandpaper. Like someone was grinding my bones,” Duran said.
An expert from the University of California San Francisco says these side effects are normal after the second COVID-19 injection because the immune response to the second injection is stronger.
“It’s the spike protein that the mRNA fools the cells into producing the cells. That’s what gets detected. That’s what we want it to do. This is all good stuff,” said George Rutherford, professor to UCSF, and Epidemiology & Biostatistics.
In this CDC report, data shows that of the 13.7 million Americans vaccinated in December and January 2021, side effects were higher in women.
“78.7% reports were submitted for adverse reactions in women. Headache (22.4%), fatigue (16.5%) and dizziness (16.5%) were the most frequently reported symptoms after vaccination with both vaccines. 62 reports of anaphylaxis have been confirmed, 46 (74.2%) after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 16 (25.8%) after receiving the Moderna vaccine. “
Luz Pena: “Why are women and young adults more likely to respond to the second injection of the Moderna or the Pfizer vaccine?”
Dr. Rutherford: “Women should have a stronger immune response because they have to protect pregnancies. They have to live to have babies. So it probably has to do with sex hormones. I can’t tell you the exact biochemical mechanism, but it makes perfect sense if you think about it in that larger context, “adding,” We also know that the immune system ages and accumulates problems as you get older, but it’s not at all surprising that the reactions are more common in younger people than older people. “
Now let’s be clear that these side effects are mild and usually last for two to three days. In some cases they are headaches, body aches and fever.
Should people be concerned if they don’t have side effects from any of the vaccines?
“No. There’s nothing wrong with them. They just have a more regulated immune system that can get them through this without causing many unnecessary symptoms. If you don’t feel these symptoms, there’s no reason to have an antibody test,” said Dr. Rutherford.
Alejandro Galicia, 34, a San Francisco resident, felt the side effects of the first Moderna recording. He was hospitalized a year ago with COVID-19 and had a 50% survival rate. He puts the pain in the body into perspective after his first admission.
“Mentally it takes you back to having a fever and it’s just a little bit psychological, but then you tell yourself it’s nothing like COVID,” said Galicia Diaz.
Copyright © 2021 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.