According to the Centre, India reported a little over 26,000 Adverse Events Following Immunization or AEFI and 488 deaths connected to post-Covid-19 vaccination problems between January 16 and June 7.
To put things in perspective, throughout this time span, 23.5 crore dosages were provided. This suggests one out of every 10,000 patients who were vaccinated against Covid-19 experienced complications after getting the vaccine over the course of 143 days. Two out of every ten lakh persons who were immunized died.
But why does Covid-19 vaccination cause side effects, here’s an elaborate answer.
Temporary side effects, including headache, fatigue and fever are signs the immune system is revving up — a normal response to vaccines. But are such responses common?
Top doctors say the day after getting these vaccines, they wouldn’t do an intense physical activity.
So here’s what’s happening:
The immune system has two main arms, and the first kicks in as soon as the body detects a foreign intruder in this case the vaccine. White blood cells swarm to the site, prompting inflammation that’s responsible for chills, soreness, fatigue and other side effects.
This rapid-response step of your immune system tends to wane with age, one reason younger people report side effects more often than older adults. Also, some vaccines simply elicit more reactions than others.
That said, everyone reacts differently. If you didn’t feel anything a day or two after either dose, that doesn’t mean the vaccine isn’t working.
Behind the scenes, the shots also set in motion the second part of your immune system, which will provide the real protection from the virus by producing antibodies.
There might be other side effects as well. As the immune system activates, it also sometimes causes temporary swelling in lymph nodes, such as those under the arm. Women are encouraged to schedule routine mammograms ahead of Covid-19 vaccination to avoid a swollen node being mistaken for cancer.
But not all side effects are routine. But after hundreds of millions of vaccine doses administered around the world — and intense safety monitoring — few serious risks have been identified.
A tiny percentage of people who got vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson reported an unusual type of blood clot. Some countries reserved those shots for older adults but regulatory authorities say the benefits of offering them still outweigh the risks.
People also occasionally have serious allergic reactions.
That’s why you’re asked to stick around for about 30 minutes after getting any type of Covid-19 vaccine — to ensure any reaction can be promptly treated.
Finally, authorities are trying to determine whether temporary heart inflammation that can occur with many types of infections also might be a rare side effect after the mRNA vaccines, the kind made by Pfizer and Moderna. US health officials can’t yet tell if there’s a link but say they’re monitoring a small number of reports, mostly male teens or young adults.