1 IN 4 PEOPLE HAVE MILD SIDE EFFECTS FROM COVISHIELD: LANCET STUDY

One in four people experience mild, short lived systemic side effects after receiving either the COVID-19 preventive by Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine -- known as Covishield in India -with headache, fatigue and tenderness the most common symptoms, according to a study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

The researchers from King’s College London in the UK also found that most systemic side effects -- meaning side effects excluding where the injection took place -- peaked within the first 24 hours following vaccination and usually lasted 1-2 days.

The analysis of data from the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app found much fewer side effects in the general population with both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines than reported in trials.

The study also reports a significant decrease of infection rates from 12 to 21 days after the first dose of the Pfizer (58 per cent reduction) and AstraZeneca (39 per cent reduction) vaccines compared to a control group.

The drop in infection at least 21 days after the first dose for Pfizer is 69 per cent and for AstraZeneca 60 per cent, according to the study. Systemic effects included headache, fatigue, chills and shiver, diarrhoea, fever and nausea.Local side effects like side effects where the injection took place in the arm.

“The data should reassure many people that in the real world, after effects of the vaccine are usually mild and short-lived, especially in the over 50’s who are most at risk of the infection,” said Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist on the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app and Professor at King’s College London.