Myocarditis And The Covid
Since April 2021, some people have developed myocarditis and pericarditis after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccines in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . The problem occurs more often in adolescents and young adults, and in males.
Considering the hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses that have been administered, these reports are very rare. The vast majority of myocarditis or pericarditis cases are mild and resolve quickly. Myocarditis is more likely to occur as a result of COVID-19 infection than as a side effect of the vaccines.
Seek medical attention right away if, within a few days of receiving the second injection of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccination , you or your child experience:
- Chest pain
- Feelings of having a fast-beating, fluttering or pounding heartbeat
COVID can cause heart problems, too
Having COVID-19 can also cause heart problems. One study published by the CDC reports that from March 2020 to January 2021, patients with COVID-19 had nearly 16 times the risk for myocarditis compared with patients who did not have COVID-19.
There Have Been Some Reported Cases Of Moderna Arm
Moderna shots have been more often associated with a side effect nicknamed “COVID arm” or “Moderna arm” in which vaccine recipients have developed a rash about a week or more after injection.
According to research published this week in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, these delayed skin responseswhich can occur from one to eight days after injectionare not dangerous and don’t preclude recipients from receiving a safe second injection.
“COVID arm” or “Moderna arm” are different than a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine, such as anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening swelling of the airway. That usually happens within minutes of the injection, which is why the CDC has advised everyone to wait 15 to 30 minutes after getting the vaccine before leaving the injection site.
But rashes that start later don’t signify a serious problem. “For people whose rashes started four or more hours after getting the vaccine, zero percent of them went on to get anaphylaxis or any other serious reaction,” said Dr. Esther Freeman, director of global health dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, in USA Today. “Zero is a nice number.”
She added: “People can feel reassured about getting the second dose of their vaccine.”
Half Doses Third Doses Kids Doses: Covid Vaccine Delivery Goes Next
On Nov. 19, the FDA broadened the eligibility for Covid vaccine boosters to all adults 18 and older. On Dec. 9, the FDA and the CDC announced that people who are aged 16 and 17 can receive a booster shot. The Pfizer booster is the only one authorized for people under age 18.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna boosters are available to people six months or later after the second dose in the series.
Not so with the J& J booster. The company had wanted the booster to be given six months or more after the initial shot, except in rare circumstances. But FDAs vaccine advisers rejected that idea, expressing concern about the level of protection people get from the single shot. They recommended that everyone who got the J& J vaccine should be vaccinated two months after the first dose with a catchup period for people who are already further out from their first shot.
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Why Do The Pfizer And Moderna Vaccines Have Different Waiting Periods Between The First And Second Shot
The time interval between the first and second shot is determined by the data collected from their clinical trials. The companies have published their safety and efficacy results based on these specified intervals. Pfizers is based on a 21-day interval between doses, while Modernas is based on a 28-day interval.
If You Received A Booster Shot
So far, reactions reported after getting a booster shot were similar to those after the two-dose or single-dose primary series. Fever, headache, fatigue and pain at the injection site were the most commonly reported side effects, and overall, most side effects were mild to moderate. However, as with the two-dose or single-dose primary series, serious side effects are rare, but may occur.
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Are Side Effects More Likely After The First Or Second Dose
With the two-shot vaccines, people are more likely to report side effects after their second dose, experts have said.
According to the CDC, side effects after your second shot “may be more intense than the ones you experienced after your first shot.”
“These side effects are normal signs that your body is building protection and should go away within a few days,” the CDC states.
In trials of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, more people experienced side effects after the second dose.
Arwady noted that a good indicator of whether you’ll experience side effects after your second dose is how your body reacted to the first.
“The biggest predictor between first and second doses is what your own reaction was,” she said. “So if you didn’t have much of a reaction after the first dose, you’re unlikely to have a big reaction after the second dose. We do see people having a little more side effects after the second dose than the first but usually not a huge, huge amount of difference.”
She added that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine “does have a lower rate of the side effects in those first few days than the other two do.”
But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get your second shot if you get side effects after your first, experts say.
When people receive that second dose, they are receiving the second booster to try and reach the maximum efficacy,” said Dr. Edward Cachay, infectious disease specialist at UCSD.
The CDC also noted that both shots are needed.
Note On Publication During The Holiday Period
Please note that over the holiday period the publication date of the Coronavirus vaccine – weekly summary of Yellow Card reporting will differ from usual. The next publication will be on 6 January 2022 containing data up to 22 December 2021. The publication on 13 January 2022 will contain data up to 5 January. Robust safety monitoring and surveillance will continue to be carried out during this period. We would ask anyone who suspects they have experienced a side effect linked with their COVID-19 vaccine to report via the Coronavirus Yellow Card website: https://coronavirus-yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/.
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When To Call The Doctor
Side effects can affect you or your childs ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days.
In most cases, discomfort from pain or fever is a normal sign that the body is building protection. Contact a doctor or healthcare provider:
- If the redness or tenderness where the shot was given gets worse after 24 hours
- If the side effects are worrying or do not seem to be going away after a few days
If you or your child get a COVID-19 vaccine and you think you or they might be having a severe allergic reaction after leaving the vaccination site, seek immediate medical care by calling 911. Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and rare severe allergic reactions.
How To Safely Manage Covid
Most COVID-19 booster shot side effects can be safely managed with over-the-counter medication such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, Milstone said. But he cautions against taking those medications before getting your shot. For one thing, you might not actually end up needing them, he said.
Additionally, there is some concern that they might interfere with the way the vaccine works, so the CDC also recommends not taking those medications before your appointment.
To help relieve any discomfort after the shot, the CDC also suggests making sure you drink enough water, gently use the arm in which you got the injection, and applying a cool compress on the arm.
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Fewer Side Effects May Encourage People To Get Vaccinated
Vaccine side effects can be an important factor affecting whether people get the jab.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly half of unvaccinated adults worry about missing work if the vaccine’s side effects make them feel sick for a day or more.
Lower rates of vaccine side effects are important, in particular for adults who are concerned about lost wages or unscheduled time away from work, Tanjala Purnell, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, tells Verywell. On average, hourly-wage workers often earn less overall income as compared with salaried workers. Therefore, these clinical trial results may be especially appealing to people who have concerns about loss of income due to sick days or potential time away from work due to vaccine side effects and/or complications.
If a vaccine like Novavax that causes fewer or less severe side effects becomes available, vaccination rates may increase among people in lower-income communities who can’t afford to miss a days worth of pay. According to recent Census Bureau data, more than half of unvaccinated Americans live in households that make less than $50,000 annually.
Period Problems And Unexpected Vaginal Bleeding
Some women have reported temporary changes in their periods after receiving the coronavirus vaccine. Some women have reported heavier bleeding than usual, delayed periods or unexpected vaginal bleeding. The MHRA and other experts are closely monitoring and evaluating these reports. Longer term follow-up is ongoing in the UK and elsewhere to better understand this reaction.
Current evidence suggests there is no link between period problems or unexpected vaginal bleeding and coronavirus vaccines. The number of reports is relatively low given the number of women who have taken the vaccine and how common period problems are generally. The menstrual changes reported usually do not last long. Whilst uncomfortable or distressing, period problems are extremely common and stressful life events can disrupt with your periods. Changes to the menstrual cycle have also been reported following infection with coronavirus and in women affected by long-COVID.
If you have changes to your periods that are unusual for you, persist over time, or you have any new vaginal bleeding after the menopause, following coronavirus vaccination, please speak to your GP.
As with all vaccines, you can report suspected side effects through the Yellow Card website.
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Mix And Match Boosters
It appears getting a booster shot is going to be a choose your own adventure type of experience after the FDA stipulated that people eligible for boosters can choose any of the jabs, regardless of what brand they initially received.
There is a growing body of evidence that boosting with a different vaccine could induce a broader and longer-lasting immune response though some combinations may work better than others.
In announcing the emergency authorizations for the Moderna and J& J boosters, the FDA stated no preference for who gets what, or in what order. People who got J& J can get a second shot of Moderna or Pfizer. People who got one of the mRNA vaccines can get the J& J vaccine as their booster, the agency said.
Not stated in the FDAs announcement is the fact that this new policy will make life much easier for folks delivering booster shots, especially those trying to boost people living in long-term care, homeless shelters or prisons. They will need to bring only one vaccine when they go to administer booster shots, rather than trying to match people to their original vaccination brand.
Three Things To Know About The Long
Many Americans say they want to make sure the shot is safe before getting vaccinated. That data is already in, and it is overwhelming.
Many Americans say they want to make sure the shot is safe before getting vaccinated. That data is already in, and it is overwhelming. In his nearly 30 years studying vaccines, Paul Goepfert, M.D., director of the Alabama Vaccine Research Clinic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has never seen any vaccine as effective as the three COVID vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson currently available in the United States.
A 90 percent decrease in risk of infections, and 94 percent effectiveness against hospitalization for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is fantastic, he said.
But what makes vaccine experts such as Goepfert confident that COVID vaccines are safe in the long term? We have all seen billboards and TV infomercials from law firms seeking people harmed by diet drugs or acid-reflux medicines for class-action lawsuits. What makes Goepfert think that scientists would not discover previously unsuspected problems caused by COVID vaccines in the years ahead?
Vaccines are eliminated quickly
Unlike many medications, which are taken daily, vaccines are generally one-and-done. Medicines you take every day can cause side effects that reveal themselves over time, including long-term problems as levels of the drug build up in the body over months and years.
Weighing the odds
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Why Do The Pfizer And Moderna Vaccines Require Two Doses
The mRNA vaccines require two doses in order to build an ideal immune response. There are two types of cells involved in forming immunity from a vaccine B cells and T cells. While the first vaccine dose helps these cells recognize the coronavirus, the second dose helps the immune system produce a stronger response.
You may be wondering if one shot will give you enough protection if youre partially vaccinated. The short answer is no. You wont be effectively protected if you skip your second shot. Because neither Pfizer nor Moderna studied how effective a single dose was in clinical trials, we dont know how long that partial protection would last either. So its recommended to get both doses. If youre eligible to get a third or booster dose, thats also recommended.
Are Certain People More Likely To Experience Side Effects
There are also some factors that could make you more likely to experience side effects. Medical experts say the biggest predictor for side effects so far has been age.
Older people do not tend to experience as many side effects because their immune systems aren’t as robust and they don’t mount as much of an immune response.
Women are also more likely to experience side effects than men. Some of this is due to the fact that estrogen can elevate immune responses, while testosterone can decrease it.
Data from the CDC also reported women were more likely to experience side effects than men, according monitoring from the first month of vaccinations.
From Dec. 14 through Jan. 13, more than 79% of side effects were reported by women, the data showed. Meanwhile, women received roughly 61.2% of the doses administered during that same time.
Side effects could also vary depending on whether or not you’ve had coronavirus.
But not getting side effects isn’t a negative and does not mean that you are not protected, health experts say. It simply means your body didn’t react with as much of an inflammatory response.
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What Is A Yellow Card
The Yellow Card scheme is a mechanism by which anybody can voluntarily report any suspected adverse reactions or side effects to the vaccine. It is very important to note that a Yellow Card report does not necessarily mean the vaccine caused that reaction or event. We ask for any suspicions to be reported, even if the reporter isnt sure if it was caused by the vaccine. Reports to the scheme are known as suspected adverse drug reactions .
Many suspected ADRs reported on a Yellow Card do not have any relation to the vaccine or medicine and it is often coincidental that symptoms occurred around the same time as vaccination. The reports are continually reviewed to detect possible new side effects that may require regulatory action, and to differentiate these from things that would have happened regardless of the vaccine or medicine being administered, for instance due to underlying or undiagnosed illness.
It is therefore important that the suspected ADRs described in this report are not interpreted as being proven side effects of COVID-19 vaccines. A list of the possible side effects of COVID-19 Pfizer/BioNTech Vaccine, COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna are provided in the product information document for healthcare professionals and the UK recipient information. These can also be found on the Coronavirus Yellow Card reporting site.
Number Of Doses/amounts Of Vaccine Per Dose
The primary series of both the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines is two shots: a priming dose, followed by a booster shot. The interval between Moderna doses is 28 days for the Pfizer vaccine, its 21 days.
Each dose of Pfizers contains 30 micrograms of vaccine. Moderna went with a much larger dose of vaccine, 100 micrograms. It means the company is using a little more than three times as much vaccine per person as Pfizer is. While Modernas initial results didnt seem to justify the much larger dose, data suggest the protection the companys vaccine generates is declining at a slower rate than Pfizers is some experts believe the higher dose may be at least partially responsible.
The J& J vaccine is, as mentioned, a single-dose vaccine. The company has also tested a two-dose regimen, with the two shots given 57 days apart. The results from that 30,000-person trial were presented during an Oct. 15 meeting of FDAs Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, as part of its application for an EUA for its booster dose.
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Side Effects Included An Injection
Among the 3.6 million people who got their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before Feb. 21and also enrolled in V-Safe and checked in at least onceabout 70 percent reported an injection-site reaction, such as pain or swelling. About half had a full-body reaction like fatigue or chills.
People who got a Moderna shot were more likely to have a side effect, compared to those who got the Pfizer formulation: 73 percent reported an injection-site reaction, compared with 65 percent of people who had a Pfizer dose. Nearly 51 percent of Moderna vaccine recipients had full-body symptoms, compared with 48 percent of people who got the Pfizer shot.