Experts to CDC: Warn the People on the Side Effects COVID Vaccine Shots Have

When pharmaceutical companies are in a race to develop their own COVID-19 vaccines to combat the disease, Pfizer and Moderna are both in the lead, both with promising efficacy percentages. This made them be the light that will guide everyone out of the pandemic.

(Photo: Gerd Altmann)
headache can be one of the manifestations of the COVID-19 vaccine

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Although with both promising results from their respective clinical trials, physicians demand the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisers in a meeting to be transparent in terms of the side effects the people may experience during the first shot of the vaccines. In an interview with CNBC, board-certified physician of internal medicine from the American Medical Association, Sandra Fryhofer, M.D. highlights that Moderna and Pfizer's COVID vaccine requires two doses changing break. She added in the interview that as a practicing physician in the field, she worries about her patients coming back for a second dosage due to the potentially uncomfortable side effects they may come across succeeding the first shot.

In the interview, Dr. Fryhofer justified that patients' awareness of the side effects should be done because it will not be easy. She added that the people would have an idea if an individual had a vaccine, which will make them uncomfortable, but they will have to come back for a second dose.

CNBC also mentions participants of Pfizer and Moderna's vaccine trials earlier that were experiencing high fever, body aches, daylong exhaustion, bad headaches, and other symptoms upon getting the shots. However, they announced that even though the drug's manifestations were intolerable, the symptoms fade the following day, and it was much preferable than getting COVID-19.

It is remembered that in the phase 3 clinical trial, Pfizer and Moderna reported that side effects are more common after the second dose. According to Pfizer's release, 3.8% on fatigue, 2% on headache were only the grade 3 solicited adverse side effects; their mRNA vaccine has given the participants of their study. On the other hand, Moderna explained that 9.7% in fatigue, 8.9% in muscle pain, 5.2% in joint pain, 4.1% pain in the injection site, and 2% redness on the injection site. This means that Moderna has more Grade 3 side effects than Pfizer.

The Approach

During the meeting that happened three days after Pfizer applied for emergency use authorization to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), CNBC furthers that pediatric nurse practitioner from Children's Minnesota, Patricia Stinchfield, APRN CNP, said that officials and pharmaceutical companies could tackle the side effects of the drug in more positive ways such as response instead of adverse effect. She added that those are immune responses, and if something is bothering an individual who got a vaccine, it is expected to feel that way. She furthers that it is normal to have arm soreness and fatigue, aches, and even fever. She emphasized that in the trials the vaccines have undergone, they may be needing to stay at home instead of going to work.

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