Coronavirus: 3 side-effects of Moderna vaccine discovered so far, according to a participant in the trial
Can we pin hopes on Moderna's COVID vaccine?
Moderna Therapeutics Inc. became the latest company to announce groundbreaking success rates from its novel coronavirus vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273.
Moderna is not only the first Pharma company who will be rolling out a vaccine on such a large scale, but their vaccine reportedly also carries a whopping 94.5% efficacy rate, leaving fellow competitors like Oxford-Astrazeneca, Pfizer, Sputnik V behind.
No other vaccine has delivered such strong success rates so far. There are reports which suggest that the earliest vaccine shots may be available for high-risk groups by December. Naturally, this has given billions across the world hope to see a COVID free world soon. However, we must not jump the gun yet. There are a few vaccination side-effects we may still have to face.
The risk of experiencing side-effects is high
While there is no vaccine which does not deliver side-effects, it's important to be aware of them, nonetheless. According to reports, Pfizer, which comes backed with a 90% safety rate induced 'hangover' like symptoms in patients post inoculation. Similar ones were also observed in volunteers part of the Oxford study and the ones who have been injected with the Russian vaccine, Sputnik V.
One such volunteer, who was part of the 30,000 participants who were injected with Moderna's experimental jab has now briefed the world about experiencing side-effects after the two-dose schedule.
While the side-effects may be routine, it's still important to know about them. These are the ones which we have learnt of so far:
Low-grade fever
One side-effect which can be expected post vaccination can be a low-grade fever. However, it's not an alarming sign. Fever happens when the biochemical compounds activate the immune cells, which then makes certain inflammatory markers to rise up. This leads to a rise in fever, redness or swelling at times. Most of these go away on its own after 2-3 days post inoculation and do not require any special treatment.
A fever can also be an indicator of your body starting to produce antibodies.
Arm pain and soreness
Many volunteers detail about experiencing a pain in the arm, wherein the vaccine was injected. This is also a fairly common reaction which happens with any vaccine. Arm pain post-vaccination is usually due to muscle soreness, which is your body's natural response to a foreign invasion. It usually goes away after a day or two and maybe a sign of gaining protection from the actual virus.
Fatigue
The participant in the study also said that he felt a bit of fatigue and experienced tiredness post injection. This again is a likely reaction of a dead virus entering the body, which then produces inflammatory response and necessary antibodies. Feeling drowsy, dull or sore is also common the first day after injection.
What do these side-effects tell us?
No one vaccine can be side-effect free. Most vaccines deliver 'reactogenic' side-effects, which are usual in nature.
Moderna's is only one of the candidates in play right now which has proven satisfactory odds in preventing chances of severe COVID illness and symptoms, which is promising. Knowing beforehand, the side-effects and shortcomings we may experience can help settle irrational fears, COVID-19 vaccine myths which can hinder vaccination drives and prepare us for the future.