What Are the Side Effects of COVID-19 Boosters? – Prevention.com

After first recommending that people in certain groups get a COVID-19 booster and then stating that people aged 18 and up may get a COVID-19 booster, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now strongly recommending that all adults 18 and older get a COVID-19 booster. But what are the side effects of COVID-19 boosters?

Last week, the CDC released a statement from director Rochelle Walensky, M.D., that said the organization is strengthening its recommendation for these additional doses. The recent emergence of the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) further emphasizes the importance of vaccination, boosters, and prevention efforts needed to protect against COVID-19, Walensky said. Early data from South Africa suggest increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant, and scientists in the United States and around the world are urgently examining vaccine effectiveness related to this variant.

If youre planning to get a COVID-19 booster, you probably have some questions about how this will impact you and whether youll have any side effects. Heres what you need to know.

Updated guidance from the CDC says that everyone ages 18 and older who has completed their primary COVID-19 vaccination series should get a booster shot after a certain period of time has passed. The exact amount of time varies depending on the type of vaccine you received the first time around.

If you had a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, the CDC recommended getting a booster dose after at least six months have passed since you received your second shot. If you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you should get a booster when its been at least two months since you had your primary series.

As for which shot to get for your booster, the CDC says its up to you. You can get a booster dose of the original vaccine you received or get a different booster.

If you're 18 or older, go get boosted, Anthony Fauci, M.D., the nations leading infectious disease expert said on MSNBC last month. We are entering the winter season; the weather will be colder, people will be indoors, theyre circulating virus around. Were seeing an uptick in some of the cases right now.

Data suggest that immunity starts to wane for COVID-19 vaccines after a certain period of time.

The available data make very clear that protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection begins to decrease over time following the initial doses of vaccination, and in association with the dominance of the Delta variant, we are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease, officials from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (including Dr. Walensky and Dr. Fauci) wrote in August.

Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout, the announcement said. For that reason, we conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability.

A study of public health data from Israel released in July estimated that the Pfizer shot was 39% effective at preventing people from COVID-19 infection in June and early July, compared with the 95% efficacy from January to early April. (Its important to note, though, that the vaccine was still more than 90% effective in preventing severe COVID-19 in people in June and July.)

Data shared by the CDC also clearly show that the vaccines ability to prevent COVID-19 declines over time, with exact drops varying by age and types of vaccine people received. Data on booster shots, however, have shown that the additional dose can help prevent people from getting symptomatic COVID-19.

There are still a lot of COVID-19 cases and getting vaccinated, along with wearing a mask and social distancing, decreases your risk of getting COVID-19, says Richard Watkins, M.D., an infectious disease physician and professor of internal medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University.

The CDC recommends bringing your COVID-19 vaccination record card to your appointment so that your vaccine administrator can fill in the information about your booster dose. And, if you didnt receive a card at your original appointments or youve lost it, the CDC suggests contacting the site where you received your first shot or your state health department to find out how you can get your card.

Otherwise, its a good idea to wear a mask to your appointment to lower the risk youll contract COVID-19 while youre there, says Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York. (Note: Some vaccination sites also require that you be masked up on the premises anyway.)

As a whole, experts suggest side effects of the booster shot will be mild, if you even experience them at all, Dr. Watkins says. As a general rule, people feel similar to how they felt after they got their second shot, Dr. Russo says. He also stresses that the side effects you experienceor dont experiencedont correlate with your immune response to the vaccine.

One CDC study that was published in September found that people had similar reactions to a third dose of the mRNA vaccine compared to what they had during their original vaccines series. Side effects generally included:

These initial findings indicate no unexpected patterns of adverse reactions after an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine, the study says, noting that most of the side effects were mild or moderate.

Also worth pointing out: Pfizer said in press release that side effects from its COVID-19 booster were similar to or better than after dose two of the primary series. Meaning, you shouldnt have worse side effects than you had with your first two COVID-19 vaccines.

Data submitted by Moderna to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that these were the most common side effects in people who received a booster dose:

Of note, swollen lymph nodes in the underarm were observed more frequently following the booster dose than after the primary two-dose series, the FDA says online.

FDA data for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine show that these are the most common side effects from the companys booster:

The good news is they dont typically stick around long. Symptoms usually resolve in a day, Dr. Watkins says. If youre dealing with flu-like symptoms or are generally uncomfortable, Dr. Russo recommends taking acetaminophen (Tylenol) for relief.

But, if you notice that youve developed symptoms like a cough, shortness of breath, or a loss of taste or smell, Dr. Russo recommends getting tested for COVID-19. While you cant get COVID-19 from the vaccine, its possible that you were infected with the virus before your booster shot kicked in, he says.

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What Are the Side Effects of COVID-19 Boosters? - Prevention.com