Side effects of COVID-19 vaccination

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COVID 19: antibody tests

Vaccination certainly protects people from dangerous diseases and has saved many lives, but many people have an ambiguous attitude towards it, to put it mildly. People are afraid of possible complications, even serious ones. And although statistics claim that the percentage of not only complications, but even simple adverse reactions from modern vaccinations is extremely insignificant, impressionable people, especially mothers, can understand: what do they care about statistics when it comes to the health of their own child.

In this article we will talk about the possible consequences of vaccinations, how to distinguish typical post-vaccination reactions from complications, describe the most common ones and advise what to do in such cases.

Reactions and complications after vaccination

From the body’s point of view, any vaccine is an attempt to introduce foreign substances into it, to which our body naturally reacts. As a rule, vaccination is either asymptomatic or with minor adverse reactions: they are not long-lasting, not persistent and do not lead to any serious health consequences.

But in very rare cases, serious complications occur with the risk of permanent health problems. True, it is worth saying that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between post-vaccination reactions and post-vaccination complications - the symptoms are often the same: it is even customary to call reactions and complications the same term “adverse reactions”.

How to identify consequences after coronavirus

Not all patients need to go for a full examination of the body in order to identify what complications remain after Covid and whether they remain at all? Then clinics will have no time to treat patients. But some people after COVID-19 really need rehabilitation measures to eliminate the consequences. When should you seek help after you have had coronavirus?

First of all, this is poor health, a deterioration in the quality of life, and certain complaints that prevent a return to normal activities. Then you need to consult a therapist if the cause of your poor health is not clear, or go to a specialist in a narrow field with a specific complaint. The doctor must determine the direction of the study, identify the cause of the disease and take measures for rehabilitation.

Post-vaccination reactions

Post-vaccination reactions are a normal reaction of the body to the introduction of a vaccine. All of them are characterized by a short duration (usually 1-2 days, up to a maximum of 5), go away on their own without external intervention and, most importantly, do not cause any negative consequences for the body of the vaccinated person.

Specific reactions largely depend on the type of vaccine (for live vaccines they can be similar to symptoms of the disease), and they are usually divided into local and general.

Local reactions

These are reactions localized at the site of vaccine administration. The most typical:

Redness and induration, swelling, hardening of lymph nodes
Painful sensations
Allergic rash

These are typical reactions to damage to the skin during an injection and the appearance of “strangers” in the body. But you need to be careful: if, for example, redness is more than 8 cm and swelling is more than 5 cm, you should consult a doctor. Painful sensations should go away within 1-3 days; if the pain is severe or interferes with sleep, you can give an anesthetic.

With repeated vaccination, local reactions occur more often: for example, for DTP - up to 50%, pneumococcal - up to 20%, for other vaccinations - from 5 to 15%. Of the live vaccines, local reactions are most often observed for BCG (for tuberculosis).

Sometimes vaccines are specially formulated to cause local reactions, which increases the body's immune response. For such vaccines (DTP, ADS, hepatitis A, B), local reactions are natural and should not cause concern.

Local reactions and their intensity are also influenced by the method of vaccine administration: it is better to do it intramuscularly, since the muscles are well supplied with blood - as a result, the vaccine is absorbed faster and the effectiveness of the vaccine increases.

You can find out more about local reactions in a separate article.

General reactions

Reactions that affect the body as a whole, but pass quickly and do not cause subsequent complications. The most typical of them:

The most well-known is an increase in temperature: if it does not exceed 38-38.5 degrees and goes away within 2-3 days, there is nothing to worry about.
General lethargy, discomfort, feeling of malaise, headache, dizziness, anxiety can last 2-3 days and are mild and do not interfere with usual activity.
Sometimes there are short-term problems with sleep and even loss of appetite.
Some components of vaccines can rarely cause allergic reactions, which manifest themselves as a rash.
When using live vaccines, you may experience mild symptoms of the disease being vaccinated against: this is a normal reaction for this type of vaccine.

Normal reactions

Here are normal reactions to some vaccines, including those included in the national vaccination calendar:

DTP - the injection site may hurt and there may be slight swelling, a short-term increase in temperature to subfebrile and even febrile levels for up to 3 days.
BCG is a papule at the injection site that erodes and a scar remains in its place.
Hepatitis B – possible pain at the injection site for no more than 3 days.
OPV – without general reactions.
Measles is a low-grade fever that may appear on days 7-12; it lasts no more than 3 days and does not require antipyretic medications. Measles rash is extremely rare.
Rubella - after 6-14 days, cold symptoms may appear: low fever, sore throat, runny nose, but all this quickly passes without outside intervention.
Mumps - pain at the injection site, a slight increase in temperature and mild malaise for 5-15 days.
Chicken pox – within 3 weeks a small number of elements of chickenpox rash may appear, and a slight increase in temperature.
Rotavirus infection - fever, vomiting and diarrhea, which quickly disappear.
COVID-19 in most cases is mild or moderate in nature and is short-lived: fever, weakness, headache. muscle pain, chills, diarrhea, pain at the injection site. The likelihood of experiencing any of these side effects varies depending on the vaccine.

More severe and prolonged reactions are possible but are extremely rare. In addition, vaccines are constantly undergoing new tests. This is done to identify rare side effects.

The given list of possible side effects in no way claims to be complete or absolute truth: we just want to reassure parents whose children have been vaccinated.

Frequency of adverse reactions

The consequences of using known vaccines have been well studied, including the frequency of adverse reactions: they occur in no more than 10% of vaccinated people, and in 95% of cases the symptoms are so minor that they do not require visiting a doctor. The vaccine against rubella causes general reactions on average in 5% of cases, and against hepatitis B – 7% of local reactions.

As for possible complications, they occur much less frequently than adverse reactions: for most vaccines - 1 case per million or more vaccinations, and severe ones - even less often.

Timing of reactions

Adverse reactions to inactive vaccines usually appear early (within a few hours), but they are mild and pass quickly.

As a rule, side effects of vaccines appear within 4 weeks, and only after BCG side effects can be observed even after 14 weeks.

Reactions to a live measles vaccine cannot appear earlier than 4 days and later than 12-14 days, for polio and mumps vaccines - 30 days.

Rare side effects

After administration of the vaccine, the patient should be asked to stay at the vaccination site for 15–30 minutes to ensure timely medical care in case of immediate reactions. If unexpected side effects or other health problems occur, such as side effects lasting more than three days, vaccinated individuals should notify their local health care providers. Rare reported side effects of COVID-19 vaccination include severe allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis; however, these reactions occur extremely rarely.

National authorities and international organizations, including WHO, are closely monitoring any adverse events associated with the use of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Post-vaccination complications

Post-vaccination complications, unlike adverse reactions, are much more complex and can have serious consequences. But they also occur much less frequently - approximately one case per million vaccinations. At the same time, it would not be amiss to recall that similar complications in the case of a disease that the vaccine protects against occur hundreds of times more often.

Causes of complications

There are three main groups of causes of complications after vaccination:

The reactogenic properties of the vaccine depend on its components, the immune activity of the drug, changes in the properties of the vaccine strain, and contamination of the vaccine. The most reactogenic are DTP and BCG, the most “heavy” drugs are used in vaccines against rubella, mumps, hepatitis B, and polio.
Features of the body : hidden pathologies that can worsen due to the body’s reaction to the vaccine, the body’s tendency to allergies, autoimmune pathologies, weakened immunity and more.
Violations of vaccination technique by medical workers, unfortunately, are one of the most common causes of complications after vaccination: incorrect dosage, poor sterilization, incorrect immunization technique or instructions were violated, the wrong solvent was used, the vaccine was incorrectly diluted or not mixed, improper storage, contraindications were not taken into account.

Types of post-vaccination complications

All possible complications after vaccination can be divided into several groups:

The body's reaction to the vaccine components:

acute allergies: anaphylactic shock, urticaria, Lyell's and Stevens-Johnson syndromes, Quincke's edema; with timely assistance, as a rule, it does not leave consequences;
a few hours after vaccination, usually DTP, the child begins to cry loudly and squeal: it’s hard to listen to, but after 3 hours it goes away and does not pose a danger to the baby;
after 1-3 hours, severe muscle weakness may occur, which quickly goes away.

Reactions due to poor quality of the vaccine, usually caused by violation of the rules of its storage and transportation:

the declared immunity is never formed;
more noticeable local reactions;
if the sterility of the vaccine is compromised, abscesses, cellulitis or other acute inflammatory changes may occur.

Post-vaccination complications (PVC) are often associated with violations of vaccine administration technology and violation of asepsis rules: they can lead to purulent-inflammatory diseases. If the BCG vaccine is administered subcutaneously rather than intradermally, a cold abscess develops. When the vaccine is administered into the gluteal muscle instead of the tibial or deltoid muscle, there is a risk of injuring the sciatic nerve or getting inflammation of the subcutaneous fatty tissue. Failure to comply with the rules of asepsis threatens with acute general or local inflammation. And if you inject a vaccine intended for oral administration, pronounced local or general reactions are possible.
Administration of a vaccine may cause the disease for which it is intended.
Severe complications can be caused by immunodeficiency in children: meningitis, vaccine-associated polio or encephalitis, BCG osteomyelitis, BCG infection. Fortunately, even with a weakened immune system, such complications are extremely rare. And most importantly: without vaccination, complications after an infection may be more pronounced and have an unfavorable prognosis.

The following describes possible complications after specific vaccinations - all of them are described in detail in the instructions for the drugs for the diseases listed below:

Hepatitis B rarely causes a temperature above 39 degrees, general reactions (nausea and vomiting, headache, weakness, arthritis), skin rash, optic neuritis and some others.
DTP vaccine has a high risk of complications and allergic reactions. The most dangerous component of the vaccine is pertussis, which can affect the brain. But the DPT variety, the ADSM vaccine, does not contain a pertussis component, so adverse reactions from it, not to mention complications, are extremely rare. General reactions to DPT - temperature 38-39 degrees, local - pain, redness or thickening, possible severe complications: strong crying of the child, turning into a squeal, temperature up to 40 degrees, vomiting, convulsions, post-vaccination encephalitis, neuritis, polyradiculoneuritis, skin allergic manifestations .
The only serious consequence of the OPV vaccination against polio is vaccine-associated polio, but it is extremely rare, and even then usually due to a background of immunity deficiency.
After vaccinations against measles, rubella and mumps, serious complications are very, very rare: thrombocytopenia, pneumonia, one-sided deafness, panencephalitis.
Possible reactions to the BCG vaccine against tuberculosis :
local: scar, ulcer, cold abscess, regional lymphadenitis;
osteitis, lymphadenitis, extremely rarely - allergic vasculitis or lupus erythematosus;
very rarely, children with T-cell immunodeficiency may develop a generalized BCG infection;
allergic reactions: rash, erythema nodosum, granuloma annulare, rash, anaphylactic shock, secondary infection.

Why is vaccination necessary? Vaccine – a teaching aid for immunity

If the immune system is already well acquainted with the causative agent of the infection - antibodies have been developed to it, then the fight against the microbe occurs quickly and successfully, and the disease passes in a mild form or does not exist at all. And if the immune system is not familiar with the pathogen, then it needs quite a long time to develop antibodies - factors that, like a key to a lock, will approach this microbe and kill it.

Vaccination is a training tool for immunity. Each microbe has a unique protein, the characteristic structure of which is used by the immune system to identify it. The vaccine (inoculation) contains the same proteins that make up the microbe. The composition of the vaccine, as a rule, includes weakened or killed microbes or viruses that are not able to cause disease in a healthy person. When we administer a vaccine and “show” it to the immune system, the immune system learns to fight the disease like a textbook. It's all simple, logical and works well.

Tips and tricks

Despite the frightening list of possible adverse reactions and complications from vaccines, the main thing to remember is that severe consequences are extremely rare and they know how to deal with them, and local and general reactions are not so frequent, mild and not dangerous to health.

However, for several days or weeks after vaccination (how long depends on the specific vaccine), you should carefully monitor your child's well-being:

High fever for 3 or more days, shortness of breath, convulsions, frequent vomiting, severe headache and other noticeable and persistent deviations from normal health are a reason to call a doctor.
The administration of a vaccine is always an additional burden on the body, sometimes quite significant, so in the first days after vaccination you should rest more and avoid noticeable physical and emotional stress.
When the temperature rises above 38°, antipyretic drugs are used in combination with physical methods - cold compresses, wiping with a damp sponge. It is especially important to reduce the temperature in children prone to seizures and with hypertensive-hydrocephalic syndrome.
Carefully monitor the condition of the body if a vaccinated child, especially a child, has a high risk of allergic reactions.
During the first 2 weeks before and after vaccination, it is better to avoid foods that are obligate allergens: seafood, honey and chocolate, eggs, strawberries, raspberries, citrus fruits.
In the first 7-10 days, try to avoid contact with other people to reduce the risk of colds. This is especially true for people with reduced immunity and chronic diseases.
It is recommended to do a general urine test 3 to 4 weeks after vaccination to identify possible kidney complications: this is especially important for children with diseases of the urinary organs. The analysis will also allow timely detection of deviations and take the necessary measures.

Long term side effects

Typically, side effects develop within the first few days after receiving the vaccine. The first mass vaccination program began in early December 2021, millions of vaccinations have already been administered, and the period of reported side effects is only a few days.

There have been concerns that COVID-19 vaccines may cause COVID-19 illness. However, none of the approved vaccines contain a viable COVID-19 viral agent, and therefore COVID-19 vaccination cannot cause COVID-19 infection.

Typically, immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, develops within a few weeks. Therefore, there is a possibility of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus shortly before or after vaccination and becoming ill with COVID-19. This is because not enough time has passed since vaccination to provide protection.

The appearance of side effects after vaccination means that the vaccine is working and the immune system is responding as required. Vaccines are safe and vaccination helps protect against COVID-19.

Why can't everyone get vaccinated?

If the immune system is weakened and a vaccine is administered, complications are possible:

The immune system will not be able to adequately respond to the vaccine - and the vaccine will work poorly or not work at all;
If the immune system is fighting some kind of infection at this time, we will divert its forces to fight the vaccine, which can cause illness, allergies, or serious complications ;
If a weakened but living microbe is introduced when the immune system is depleted, the vaccine can cause disease . Such complications are possible, for example, when a child is vaccinated with BCG or given a live polio vaccine.