COVID vaccine side effects ‘nothing serious at all,’ Fauci says after getting injection
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said he experienced minimal side effects after getting a coronavirus vaccine.
Fauci received the Moderna vaccine on camera Tuesday at the National Institutes of Health. He’s one of several public figures to do so in an effort to encourage other Americans to get the shot when it’s available to them.
He told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the side effects he experienced after receiving the shot were “nothing serious at all” and “even as good or better than an influenza vaccine.”
“The only thing I had was maybe six to 10 hours following the vaccine I felt a little bit of an ache in my arm that lasted maybe 24 hours, a little bit more, then went away and completely other than that I felt no other deleterious type of effects,” Fauci said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week authorized Moderna’s vaccine for emergency use. It’s the second coronavirus vaccine to be rolled out to the public after Pfizer’s vaccine, which was authorized for emergency use the week before.
Pfizer’s vaccine is authorized for individuals ages 16 and older and Moderna’s for people ages 18 and older. Both vaccines require two doses.
“Perhaps when I get the boost I might feel a little achy because the immune system will be revving up even more but I’ll be getting that in about three weeks,” Fauci said on CNN.
The most common side effects of the Moderna vaccine include pain near the injection site, fatigue, headaches, muscle or joint pain and chills. The company did not report any allergic reactions during its clinical trials.
Pfizer has reported similar side effects from its vaccine.
In Alaska, two health care workers experienced allergic reactions within minutes of receiving the Pfizer vaccine, The New York Times reported. The first person did not have a history of allergies, and it’s unclear if the second person did. Both have fully recovered.
Experts say the occasional allergic reaction is expected as more people get vaccinated.
Both companies say side effects were mostly short lived during clinical trials, and experts say they are normal and should not scare people away from getting the vaccine.
Vaccine roll-out is underway across the country, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate nearly 2 million people have received a shot as of Saturday morning.
The shots are being allocated based on population, and states are in charge of prioritizing who gets them.
A CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended that — after health care workers and nursing home residents receive their vaccines — people ages 75 and older and essential workers not involved in health care should be next in line, followed by those ages 65 to 74, those ages 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions and other essential workers.
This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 6:16 AM with the headline "COVID vaccine side effects ‘nothing serious at all,’ Fauci says after getting injection."
