Microbiologist: fever and muscle pain after vaccination are not side effects

Vaccination is to cause an inflammatory response – muscle pain or fever are included in it, they should not be treated as side effects, microbiologist Dr. Joanna Jursa-Kulesza told PAP. What ailments should worry us?

1. – We will feel sick – on the first, second, sometimes third day. People perceive it as side effects, and they are included in vaccination – it is supposed to cause an inflammatory response – explains Dr. Jursa-Kulesza
2. One of the most common symptoms after receiving the vaccine is an increase in temperature, the doctor explains. Usually it is in the range from 36,7 to about 37,9 degrees Celsius
3. There may also be a rash, malaise, swelling, redness or pain at the injection site. They are harmless and even advisable – explains the doctor
4. Dr. Jursa-Kulesza also lists symptoms that should worry us and make us contact a doctor. What symptoms are we talking about?
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– Vaccination is nothing more than inducing an immune response, which is associated with the activation of a pro-inflammatory reaction. Hence the fever or muscle pain at the injection site after vaccination, told PAP the microbiologist, head of the Independent Medical Microbiology Laboratory of the Pomeranian Medical University and head of the infection control team at the provincial hospital in Szczecin, Dr. Joanna Jursa-Kulesza, MD, PhD.

What symptoms are acceptable after vaccination?

She stressed that these are temporary symptoms that usually disappear within 24 hours of vaccination, although they may persist for up to 72 hours. One of the most common symptoms, the doctor added, is an increase in temperature – from 36,7 to about 37,9 degrees Celsius, the temperature is rarely higher.

1. Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, J&J – what are the side effects?

Except fever may appear: rash, bad mood, edema, reddening or pain at the injection site, they are harmless and even advisable. It is then known that the vaccine has started working. These symptoms usually disappear on their own within a few hours or days.

– We also feel as if we have some disease: muscles and joints hurt, we feel very broken. We can mitigate it in a safe and responsible manner. You can take all kinds of antipyretics. The safest drug is paracetamol, but you can also take ibuprofen, the ingredients of the drugs will alleviate the effects of vaccination – pointed out Dr. Jursa-Kulesza.

She noted that a complete failure of the body to respond to vaccination “also is not a good response”: the purpose of vaccination is to induce immunity, the body must be stimulated to the antigen.

– We will feel sick – on the first, second, sometimes third day. People perceive it as side effects, and they are part of vaccination – it is supposed to cause an inflammatory response – emphasized the microbiologist.

How long do symptoms persist?

She pointed out that the immune response may differ depending on the organism.

– Younger people have more severe vaccine reactions, the response is more turbulent, the body builds up immunity faster. In the elderly, due to the physiological aging of the immune system, vaccination reactions are usually very mild. Very often, such people at the vaccination point say that nothing like this happened after the injection, they did not have to take any medications to relieve symptoms – explained Dr. Jursa-Kulesza.

She emphasized that this does not mean that in people who did not have any symptoms, the vaccine did not work – most likely they develop immunity more slowly. However, she noted that approx. 10 percent. population, regardless of age, does not respond to vaccination – this is the so-called anergic group. The vaccine is not completely immune in these people.

– Therefore, if someone has not noticed any reaction to the vaccine or is a frequently ill person, it would be good to measure the level of antibodies to the S protein in an analytical and microbiological laboratory about six weeks after the end of vaccination – said the doctor. She added that such a test should be performed only after the second dose of the vaccine. As she pointed out, this is not a requirement, but more to satisfy one’s own curiosity; Vaccine societies do not recommend routine post-vaccination antibody testing.

1. Women are more likely to experience adverse effects from vaccines. Why?

How long after vaccination do we get full protection?

The doctor emphasized that the principles of DDM should also be followed immediately after vaccination. Immunity does not appear immediately – IgM antibodies (so-called early, humoral) appear about 7-10 days after infection. “Late”, specific antibodies – IgG, precisely identifying the virus in the blood, are formed on the 10-14 day.

– Translating this into vaccination, it is only after two weeks that we have a titer that could be called protective. Therefore, if we were infected earlier, we would have insufficient amount of antibodies to neutralize this virus in the blood – explained Dr. Jursa-Kulesza.

As she pointed out, the signal to contact the doctor will be a fever lasting more than three days and not decreasing after the use of antipyretic drugs – this may mean that the patient was in the period of brooding disease at the time of vaccination. Other disturbing symptoms are shortness of breath, severe dizziness and severe pain in the chest, as well as a rash on the body, symptoms that have not been present before.

1. Side effects of the vaccine. When to see a doctor?

– It would be good if a doctor saw us in such cases, so that we would not underestimate these symptoms. We vaccinate a very large population with very different inclinations, including genetic tendencies, maybe even with hidden diseases that we do not know about yet – said Dr. Jursa-Kulesza.

The microbiologist noted that it is extremely important to inform the prescribing physician about all medications you are taking to avoid adverse reactions, such as thromboembolism.

– In women, especially after the age of 35, it is very important to say whether they are taking oral contraceptives, which will increase the risk of thromboembolism with every vaccination, but also with every infection – said the doctor. She added that information about the presence of venous disease will also be important for the doctor.

Author: Elżbieta Bielecka

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