Covaxin, Covishield, Pfizer, AstraZeneca. This one’s effective that one’s not. COVID-19 vaccines are the only things people seem to talk about these days. While it is absolutely necessary to get your vaccine shot as and when prescribed by the doctor, it is also important to understand the possible consequences of getting inoculated. 

Many people develope certain allergies and side effects such as headache, fever, swollen arms, dizziness, etc after receiving their first or second dose of COVID vaccine. Though these after-effects are almost always normal and a stimulus-response of one’s immune system, it is better to know the reason behind it.

Why do some people experience side effects after vaccines?

The prime reason is how our immune system is responding to the drug. The body starts responding as soon as it detects a foreign object inside it. Once it scans the object, it automatically starts making substances, i.e, antibodies to fight the intruder with the help of white blood cells (WBC). WBC accumulates to the site of injection bolstering inflammatory reactions like chills, fever, fatigue, headache, swelling, etc.

With that being said, if one doesn’t experience these side or after-effects it certainly does not mean that the vaccine is not affecting or the body is not responding to it. There are multiple factors affecting this mechanism such as age, medication, etc. Immune response is believed to wane with age, which is why younger individuals witness more side effects after getting vaccinated than their older counterparts.

Some serious side effects

While most immunised people experience these simple side effects that abate with time. The possibility of getting serious effects after vaccination is not completely ruled out and had been detected in a small fraction of the population. 

One of the most common of such impacts being unusual blood clots or thrombosis reported in people who have taken AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines which even led to European countries blocking AsreaZeneca usage for a long time.

However, these side effects must not discourage an individual to take the vaccine as these serious side effects are extremely rare and easily treatable with the right and timely medical attention.