Headaches, fatigue among most common vaccine adverse effects, latest CDC report finds

A recent study in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report revealed that headache, fatigue, and dizziness were the most commonly reported adverse effects among people receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Researchers analyzed safety data from December 14 to January 13. During that period, the first and second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were administered, in addition to the first doses of the Moderna vaccine. CDC used data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and v-safe, a text message system CDC developed to track COVID-19 safety. Among more than 13.9 million doses administered during the first month of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program, 6,994 adverse events were reported to VAERS. Of those, 90.8% were deemed nonserious, while 9.2% were serious. Women represented nearly 78% of adverse event reports. There were 62 confirmed cases of anaphylaxis, while the most frequently reported adverse effects were headache, fatigue, and dizziness, followed by chills and nausea. Data from v-safe indicated that reactions occurred more often following the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine compared with the first, with the reported rate of fever and chills more than four times higher. A total of 113 deaths were reported during the analysis period, including 78 among individuals staying at long-term care facilities. CDC said, “Counseling vaccine recipients to expect transient local and systemic reactions might ease concerns and encourage competition of the 2-dose vaccination series.”