The most common adverse side effects of the COVID-19 shots are headache, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, chills, fever, and pain at the injection site, according to the CDC. With the growing number of immunizations comes a clearer picture of the negative side effects associated with the shots. More than 40 million doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States, mostly to seniors and healthcare workers, since the rollout began in mid-December.

To date, COVID-19 has claimed 2.32 million lives worldwide and more than 463,000 in the U.S. But, doctors like Slaughter point out, every potential bad outcome of a COVID-19 vaccine should be weighed against the chance of getting sick or dying from the virus. The side-effects can still be scary, and a minimal risk still exists. So far, the vaccine has proven to be safe and effective, doctors say. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the only ones authorized for public use in the U.S., appear to have the same types of adverse effects, called risk patterns, as those of other shots, such as the meningitis B and shingles vaccines.

What matters most, doctors say, is the severity and the rate at which they occur. But it’s not at all surprising that allergic reactions happen. The side effects he felt, according to multiple media reports, are typical, though some people experience far more dramatic symptoms after receiving the potentially lifesaving jab.īy now, most people have read reports about allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines: the doctor in Boston who had to administer his EpiPen, the hospital worker in Alaska who had trouble breathing, and even debunked rumors that a few elderly patients died as a result of being inoculated. Slaughter is also healthy and in the prime of his life. The second dose, he said, came with the same soreness, some mild fatigue, and a “subjective fever” - he felt warm but wasn’t running a temperature. After the first dose of the Pfizer-Biotech version, he felt soreness at the point of injection, and that dissipated almost entirely by the following day. His side effects after the vaccine were minimal, he later told Spectrum News 1.

Allergic reactions to the vaccine are rare, and the risk of anaphylaxis is higher for the meningitis B and shingles vaccines.

It appears that the side effects are more pronounced with the second dose of the vaccines.

The side effects associated with the Pfizer and Moderna shots are comparable to, though slightly worse than, those of other vaccines.

The most common side effects of the vaccine are headache, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, chills, fever, and pain at the injection site.

Shortness of breath vaccine side effect