Don't freak out about 'weird' COVID-19 vaccine side effects. It may actually be a good sign
Video above: Doctors explain why younger adults may have harsher side effects from second shot of COVID-19
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong .
Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine at UCSF and the director of the school맥스카지노s immunocompromised host infectious diseases program, is concerned that people are paying too much attention to the side effects of the shot.
맥스카지노Everybody's getting vaccinated now on such an unprecedented level,맥스카지노 he told SFGATE, 맥스카지노so with a large population, you're going to see different things in different people. And then people are very keyed in to any side effect that occurs, so they're going to report it. And I think people are tuned in to that.맥스카지노
The numbers of people affected by adverse side effects are miniscule. of the Pfizer vaccine rollout noted that of more than 1.8 million Americans who got the vaccine, only 4,300 total reported adverse effects. (That맥스카지노s 1/5 of 1% of the people who got doses.)
For clarity's sake, he맥스카지노s split the various side effects from the immunization into four categories: severe allergic reactions; less-severe, more common vaccine reactions, such as fever, fatigue, soreness, aches; "weird stuff"; and the ones that haven맥스카지노t been linked to the vaccine, like heart attacks and death. Common vaccine symptoms aren맥스카지노t anything to worry about, nor are the ones linked to misinformation about the vaccine. (Individuals with a history of allergic reactions to vaccines should speak to a physician before getting the shot.)
But Chin-Hong understands the "weird stuff" may be worrisome to most people. By "weird stuff," he맥스카지노s referring to the unexpected side effects that have emerged in recent weeks as the efforts to inoculate more people have ramped up.
That includes the so-called "Moderna arm," in which found that some folks have reported a large, itchy rash at the injection site after getting the Moderna shot, and , which has inadvertently resulted in concerns over swelling and lumps in the breast area. Chin-Hong has also seen a phenomenon in which people with facial and lip fillers may get swelling at the site of the fillers .
These "weird" side effects may certainly sound worrisome. But none of them, he says, are a cause of concern.
In fact, Chin-Hong likens getting the shot to a world-class boot camp for your immune cells.
맥스카지노It is your immune system being trained like elite Navy SEALs,맥스카지노 he said. 맥스카지노It맥스카지노s just thinking about your immune system being primed, is really the healthy way to think about it. The same cells that cause you to feel like that are the ones that are going to be called to the battle when the real COVID comes along.맥스카지노
And, he jokes, of course your body맥스카지노s going to be pretty peeved that it has to put in work to make sure you don맥스카지노t get ill 맥스카지노 and acts up in a small way.
맥스카지노No wonder they're angry, because they've sort of been sluggish this whole time. They've never seen this thing before, and all of a sudden they have to do 10 push-ups and they맥스카지노re complaining.맥스카지노
In most, if not all, the cases of odd side effects, Chin-Hong says, 맥스카지노they don맥스카지노t linger for too long.맥스카지노
맥스카지노They go away,맥스카지노 he said. 맥스카지노Many people don't have to take any medications for them. And they're self-limited and, most importantly, no one has died from any of these things, or as I know, have had severe disability from it.맥스카지노
That said, for anyone who is concerned with these side effects, it's worth speaking to a physician who can further address particular concerns. That goes double for people who get regular mammograms.
Chin-Hong advises waiting at least six weeks after getting the vaccine to conduct the important test so that lymph nodes do not get flagged for a more serious breast cancer diagnosis.
Why do younger people and women experience side effects more often?
Chin-Hong is also aware that some groups of people are more likely to be burdened with side effects than others.
He points to three groups as more likely to get side effects: younger people, women and people who previously had COVID-19. These groups, he said, have stronger reactions to the vaccine because their immune system is more active in handling the coronavirus.
맥스카지노The younger you are, the more side effects you would get, statistically speaking, because the immune system is just more agile,맥스카지노 he said.
Same goes for people who have already gotten COVID-19.
맥스카지노Your immune system,맥스카지노 Chin-Hong explained, 맥스카지노has seen it before, so they think the thing that your body is making, which is the spike protein for most of the vaccines 맥스카지노 not the real whole virus 맥스카지노 they think it맥스카지노s the real COVID. So they맥스카지노re coming out of slumber to go and fight it, as well as training some more.맥스카지노
As for women, he says, data from the vaccine trials earlier this year indicated that women, on the whole, are more likely to face side effects from the vaccine.
맥스카지노Women just generally have a more active immune system compared to men,맥스카지노 Chin-Hong said. There are plenty of reasons for this, including estrogen acting as a stimulant for the immune system.
That early CDC report also indicated that women reported the vast majority of the 맥스카지노nonanaphylactic allergic reactions맥스카지노 after getting the Pfizer shot.
The heightened side effects, Chin-Hong says, also applies to most vaccines, too, not just the COVID-19 immunization.
맥스카지노It맥스카지노s not a COVID thing alone,맥스카지노 he said. 맥스카지노We맥스카지노ve seen that before in many other vaccines.맥스카지노
And if none of what Chin-Hong has said eases concerns over getting the vaccine, he wants to make clear that coronavirus is just so much worse than any of the strange side effects could ever be.
맥스카지노The side effects that we talked about,맥스카지노 he said, 맥스카지노all of them are so much better than getting the real-deal COVID. There맥스카지노s no comparison. It's like night and day. 맥스카지노 So we need to get vaccinated, all of us, if given the opportunity.맥스카지노
