What to expect after COVID shot

Headaches, fatigue dizziness are most commonly reported.

As a growing number of Ohioans gain access to COVID-19 vaccines, mild side effects are common with the vaccines on the market, in particular with the second dose, and some people may need to take a day off work following vaccination.

These reactions to the vaccine are a sign that a person’s immune response is revving up and developing protective immunity, physicians said.

“It’s generating a strong response by your immune system, which is, of course, what you want out of a vaccine. You trade one day of feeling crummy to avoid getting sick,” said Dr. Thomas Hirt, with PriMed Physicians. “It’s particularly the second dose because ... it’s the same shot, but then the body recognizes it more and has a stronger response, because it already has some of its defenses prepared.”

CDC data released a new vaccine safety monitoring report Feb. 19 finding mild reactions were common, there were rare reports of anaphylaxis were received, and no unusual or unexpected reporting patterns were detected. Data continues to be monitored and vaccinated people can download the V-safe app to check-in and add their symptom experience.

Side effects

The agency is continuing to collect and evaluate data on the 22 million who received them. Symptoms most frequently reported were headaches (22.4%), fatigue (16.5 %) and dizziness (16.5%).

“The vaccine side effects, although they can be troubling, they’re short lived. And they’re much better than getting a COVID infection. Because with COVID infection, you can end up with severe disease, you can end up in the hospital, and also, of course, you can transmit it to your contacts,” Dr. Jeffrey Weinstein, with Kettering Health Network, said.

While t he s ymptoms are a sign of your immune response, even if you don’t have side effects, the vaccine is still working, Weinstein added.

“What we’re seeing is mostly symptoms like fatigue, muscle and body aches, chills, occasionally fever, though that’s less common headache,” Weinstein said.

A little less than 13% of Ohioans — 1.5 million people — have received at least one dose of the vaccine, including 60% of Ohioans 80 and older. Health care workers, Ohioans 65 and older, teachers planning on in-person