UNDERSTANDING COVID-19 VACCINE SIDE EFFECTS

According to the Oxford Learners Dictionary, a vaccine is quite simply ‘a substance that is put into the blood and that protects the body from a disease.’ For this reason, COVID-19 vaccines are considered a beacon of hope that provides protection against developing severe COVID-19 disease and death.

Mild side-effects following vaccination are perfectly normal and tell-tale that a person’s body is building protection through the production of antibodies. Common side-effects include, but are not limited to, pain, swelling, or redness at the vaccine injection site, fever or chills, fatigue, headache and muscle pains. The side-effects normally resolve within three days, but can last up to a week. However, should the redness or tenderness at the injection site worsen after 24 hours, or if the side-effects are worrying and have not cleared after a few days, it is recommended that you contact your healthcare provider. Those who have been vaccinated should be mindful that while symptoms show the immune system is responding to the vaccine, evidence from clinical trials showed that those with no symptoms were also protected. ?

In a few rare instances more serious side-effects have been reported, including difficulty breathing, an elevated heartbeat, dizziness and weakness. Therefore, those who have been vaccinated are advised to remain at the vaccination site for observation for 15 minutes, and 30 minutes for those who have a history of allergies. This allows for individuals to be treated immediately, should they have a severe reaction. ?

Although rare, adverse effects following immunisation or AEFI for short, is any untoward health event that happens after a person receives a vaccine, which usually occurs within 28 days. All health events after vaccination is important to investigate, because vaccines are given to healthy people, and whilst some mild and short-lasting symptoms are acceptable, moderately severe and severe side effects are not and should be fully investigated to understand the root cause. ?

The most well publicised adverse effects for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, is vaccine-induced thrombosis and thrombocytopenia (VITT), a blood clot that develops after vaccination. Symptoms appear between 10 and 14 days post-vaccination and may include severe headaches with blurred vision, vomiting, difficulty speaking, abdominal pain, leg pain or swelling, chest pain or shortness of breath. If a person presents any of these symptoms, medical care should be sought immediately and it is important to tell the doctor when vaccination took place and to take any medication you were given, with you.

Health practitioners and members of the public are encouraged to report any AEFI through the Med Safety App that can be found on Google Play Store (Android) or the App store iOS (Apple). Once the AEFI has been investigated, the report findings will be shared with the National Department of Health, and ultimately the final assessments are reported to the World Health Organization, enabling adverse effects related to pharmaceutical and therapeutic treatments to be recorded.