Many people are wondering how tolerable the new corona vaccines are. What vaccination reactions are to be expected and are there any dangerous long-term side effects? We clarify.
The corona vaccinations have been running for several months. While many people initially rejected the new vaccines, the willingness to vaccinate has increased in recent months, as reported by the Ärzte Zeitung . However, there is still skepticism about the effectiveness and possible side effects of the corona vaccination.
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How effective are the corona vaccines?
The corona vaccine from the pharmaceutical company BioNTech promises a high effectiveness of 95 percent. A so-called mRNA molecule is injected, where it produces a virus protein in the human cells and stimulates the immune system to form antibodies. Moderna ‘s mRNA vaccine also promises similar effectiveness, as an American study has shown. According to the study results, this vaccine has an effectiveness of 95 percent. The third approved vaccine from Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZenecais a vector vaccine that contains genetic material of a surface protein with which the pathogen Sars-CoV-2 docks to human cells. However, unlike the BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the AstraZeneca vaccine has an efficacy of 60 to 70 percent.
The vaccines should not only protect against infection, but also – in the event of infection – alleviate the symptoms so that a severe course can be prevented.
How well tolerated are the corona vaccines?
Many people are wondering whether the new vaccine will also have side effects and if so, which ones. According to BioNTech, the BNT162b2 vaccine is well tolerated. According to the pharmaceutical company, only mild to moderate side effects occur immediately after the vaccination , which quickly subside. So far, according to BioNTech, it has already been established that fewer and weaker side effects occurred in older subjects.
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After corona vaccination: These side effects are to be expected
The most common side effects in vaccinated volunteers are fatigue, headache and joint pain, chills and reddening at the injection site . These flu-like vaccination reactions are completely normal and no cause for concern, but show that your immune system is dealing with the vaccine and is forming antibodies.
Expressed in percentages, it looks like this:
BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine: Injection
site pain > 80%
fatigue > 60%
headache > 59%
chills > 30%
joint pain > 20%
muscle pain > 30%
injection site swelling and fever >10%
vomiting > 1%
lymph node swelling in the neck > 1%
Moderna vaccine
Pain at the injection site: > 90%
Fatigue 70%
Headache and muscle aches: > 60%
Joint pain and chills: > 40%
Nausea or vomiting: > 20%
Fever: > 10%
Swelling and redness at the injection site: > 10%
Lymph node swelling in the armpit > 10%
Generalized rash and hives: 1-10%
Itching at the injection site: 0.1-1%
The majority of reactions are observed somewhat less frequently in older people than in younger people. Most symptoms appear after the second injection. To relieve the flu-like symptoms, you can take painkillers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen . An official information sheet on corona vaccination from the Robert Koch Institute states:
If there is pain or fever after the vaccination, pain-relieving/fever-reducing medication (e.g. paracetamol) can be taken. Your family doctor can advise you on this.
However, experts such as Thomas Herdegen , deputy director of the Institute for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Kiel, advise taking painkillers after six hours at the earliest . Taking it too early is suspected of impairing the formation of antibodies . You can find more on this topic here .
Cerebral vein thrombosis after AstraZeneca vaccination
There have been a few cases of cerebral vein thrombosis following vaccination with the vector vaccine AstraZeneca . The federal government then stopped the distribution of the vector vaccine as a precaution in order to further analyze the cases and to uncover possible causalities between the vaccination and the cerebral vein thrombosis that occurred.
After a vaccination freeze of several days, vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine were continued. As reported by the NDR, an information sheet now provides information about the rare complications of blood clots in the brain and their symptoms. According to media reports, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) sees no increased health risks and recommends continuing vaccinations. “The vaccine is safe and effective against Covid-19 and the benefits far outweigh the risks,” said EMA chief Emer Cooke. From the end of March to May, however, the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) changed its vaccination recommendation for the vector vaccine. According to this, only people aged 60 to 69 should use AstraZenencato be vaccinated. At the beginning of May, the vaccine was released nationwide for all people aged 18 and over who wanted to be vaccinated.
Signs of cerebral vein thrombosis after vaccination
One of the most common side effects after vaccination is headache. However, if these occur two to three weeks after the vaccination and last for a period of several days and the headache is particularly severe so that it cannot be relieved with conventional painkillers, this may be a cerebral vein thrombosis. Neurological symptoms such as hemiplegia and/or sensory disturbances, speech disorders or epileptic seizures are also signs of cerebral vein thrombosis. If you also notice bruising or small, pinpoint bleeding in the skin , especially on the arms and legs, you should definitely consult a doctor.
Cerebral vein thrombosis also in older women
The German Society for Neurology has re-evaluated the cases of cerebral vein thrombosis that have occurred in Germany. The result: In principle, the very rare side effect can also occur in older women and men. The neuroepidemiologist Professor Dr. Tobias Kurth, Director of the Institute for Public Health at the Berlin Charité: “The incidence rate of cerebral vein thrombosis in women under 60 after administration of the Astra Zeneca vaccine was 24.2/100,000 person-years, that of women over 60 after administration of the same vaccine was 20 .5/100,000 person-years. Our data therefore show that older women also have an increased risk of suffering from sinus and cerebral vein thrombosis after administration of the Astra Zeneca vaccine.” Kurth recommends carrying out a new risk-benefit analysis for the vaccine.
After Biontech vaccination: cases of heart muscle inflammation
Data from Israel show that in rare cases, inflammation of the heart muscle (mycarditis) can occur after the second Biontech vaccination. Men under the age of 30 were particularly affected. The inflammation of the heart was usually mild and cleared up after a few days. You can recognize mycarditis by heart problems such as chest pain and a rapid increase in heart rate, as well as by fever and exhaustion.
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Stronger vaccination reactions after cross-vaccination
On the advice of the Robert Koch Institute, young people who want to be vaccinated who have received AstraZeneca as their first dose should receive an mRNA vaccine – i.e. the vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna – as their second dose. According to initial findings, the so-called cross- vaccination should be very effective against the corona virus. A study from Oxford examined the tolerability of mixed vaccinations. According to this, vaccination reactions occur more frequently and more severely after vaccination. Between 60 and 80 percent of the vaccinated study participants complained of flu-like symptoms.
Corona vaccination: Allergic overreactions are rare
Allergic overreactions are very rare and occur within the first half hour after vaccination. People who show reactions to the first vaccination or have allergies to the ingredients of the vaccination should not be vaccinated.
So far, no statements have been made about serious, rarely occurring side effects. These can only be determined after a longer period of observation and after many vaccinations. Even after approval, further clinical studies will therefore be continued in order to record them. In principle, however, according to the Federal Ministry of Health : “Every vaccine must be safe, effective and well tested before it is approved for the market in the EU or in Germany.” are to be reported. Vaccine manufacturers and authorities should be able to continuously collect data on tolerability and duration of effectiveness.
After the vaccination against the corona virus: how to behave?
After the vaccination, the arm can hurt slightly, so you should rest it a little and cool it if necessary. Since the immune system is well challenged after the vaccination, you should not put additional strain on it. Light physical activity like a short jog or bike ride is fine, but stay well below your performance limit. You should also avoid heavy alcohol consumption in the first few days after vaccination, as its breakdown puts an additional strain on the body. Therefore, save your energy for the formation of the antibodies .
Also interesting: Can you drink alcohol after the corona vaccination?
Corona vaccination: are there long-term side effects?
According to experts, there are no dangerous long-term side effects to be feared when vaccinating against Covid-19 . “Long-term side effects that only occur years later are generally not known with vaccines,” explains Susanne Stöcker , spokeswoman for the Paul Ehrlich Institute, in an interview with ZDFheute. Stöcker confirmed that the mRNA vaccine is broken down quickly after vaccination The data indicate that the mRNA is no longer detectable in the body after about 50 hours, the expert
confirmed.This was also confirmed by the Federal Ministry of Health, which commented online on the effects of the vaccine on the DNA: “A direct incorporation of mRNA from the vaccine into the DNA is not possible because the chemical structures differ from each other. In 60 years of mRNA research, scientists have never observed that mRNA penetrates from the cell plasma into the cell nucleus and could thus change the genome.”
