Covid vaccines: your questions answered – BHF – British Heart Foundation

Updated 31 January 2024

Everything you need to know aboutthe Covid-19 vaccine, including its safety, effectiveness and side effects.

Our fortnightly Heart Matters newsletter includes the latest updates about coronavirus when you have a heart condition, as well as support for healthy eating, staying active and your emotional wellbeing.

Although catching Covid may seem less serious now, and even if youve had it before, it can still cause serious illness.

The vaccine is the best way to protect yourself from becoming seriously unwell or being hospitalised from Covid-19.

Thats why its particularly important for vulnerable people with a heart condition or a long-term condition to be vaccinated.

Covid can also lead to long-lasting symptoms (long Covid), even for people who werent seriously unwell when they first caught Covid.

Yes, the vaccine is safe for people with heart and circulatory conditions. No vaccine is approved unless it is considered safe for people with long-term conditions, including heart conditions.

Visit our Covid-19 vaccines and myocarditispage for up to date information about the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis.

Having high blood pressure generally wont stop you getting the vaccine. If your blood pressure is very high on the day of the appointment, particularly if you feel unwell, ask your doctor or the vaccine centre for advice.

You can also have the vaccine if your blood pressure is low. Let the person who is giving you the vaccine know if you feel faint or lightheaded.

You may be asked to wait a few days between surgery and getting your vaccine. This is so that any reaction you have to the operation can be separated from a reaction to the vaccination.

If youve had a stent fitted (angioplasty), it doesnt necessarily need to cause any delay with getting your vaccine, especially if the procedure was planned and there are no complications. If youre not sure, check with the medical team who looked after you when you had your stent fitted.

Yes, the Covid-19 vaccine is safe for people taking heart medications. This includes beta blockers, statins, blood pressure drugs and other heart medications. Your medication wont stop the vaccine from working, and the vaccine wont cause problems with your medication.

There is special advice about having the vaccine for people who are taking warfarin or other anticoagulants.

In general, yes, but you should let the person giving you the vaccine know that you are taking an anticoagulant. As with any injection, there is some risk of bleeding.

The Covid-19 vaccine is injected into the muscle of your upper arm. Injections into your muscle may bleed a little more than injections that are given under the skin, but less than those that are given into a vein. If you are taking a blood thinner such as warfarin, or a new anticoagulant, the bleeding may take a little longer to stop and you may get more bruising on your upper arm.

Public Health England and the Department of Health have said that you can have the vaccine if your anticoagulant treatment is stable. That means that you will have been taking the same dose for a while and that if you are on warfarin, that your INR checks are up to date and that your latest INR level was in the right range.

Yes, the vaccine is safe for people taking clopidogrel and other antiplatelet medications. You may experience a little more bruising around the injection site.

Yes. Vaccines are only approved for use after being tested on tens of thousands of people. All of the approved vaccines are shown to be safe.

In the UK, tens of millions of people have now had a Covid-19 vaccine, and reports of serious side effects have been very small.

The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) continues to monitor Covid-19 vaccines to make sure they meet strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.

Covid vaccines have been proven to be very effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalisation, and death from Covid-19.

Results of the COALESCE study, published in January 2024, looked at the health records of 67 million people aged 5 and over in the UK from 1 June to 30 September 2022.

The researchers found that not having all eligible Covid-19 vaccine doses was associated with more hospitalisations and deaths across all age groups.

The study also found that people aged 75 and above, who did not receive all the doses they were eligible for, were twice as likely to become severely ill with Covid-19 compared to those who were fully vaccinated.

The researchers estimated that 7,180 hospitalisations and deaths could have been prevented if the UK population had been fully vaccinated in the four months from 1 June to 30 September 2022.

A February 2023 report by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) suggests that six months after the bivalent vaccine, most people can expect some degree of protection, with around 60% vaccine effectiveness against serious illness from Covid-19.

People aged 75 and over are also eligible for the Sanofi/GSK monovalent booster vaccine. In a September 2023 study of over 14,000 people from this age group, the Sanofi/GSK booster was shown to protect against hospitalisation in the weeks following vaccination.

We know that boosters offer more protection against serious illness and hospitalisation from Covid-19, which is why its important to have a booster if you are offered one.

Visit our webpage about the safety of theOxford/AstraZeneca vaccine,including side effects and reports of blood clots.

Like all medicines, vaccines can cause side effects, although many people don't get any side effects at all. For the Pfizer vaccine (like the other vaccines), the vast majority of side effects are mild and short-term. The most common are pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain or chills. Dont worry if your arm starts to hurt the next day, this isnt a cause for concern and is usually gone within a day or two. You can take paracetamol to treat any of these side effects.

For the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, side effects tend to be stronger with the second dose. The types of side effects are the same and should still only last a day or two.

Often side effects are just a sign that the vaccine is doing its job: itcan happen with many vaccines that some people might feel slightly unwell because their immune system is responding to the protein, but this is not a Covid-19 illness and the vaccine cant give you coronavirus.

Like all medicines, vaccines can cause side effects, although many people don't get any side effects at all. For the Moderna vaccine (like the other vaccines), the vast majority of side effects are mild and short-term. The most common are pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, joint pain or chills. You can take paracetamol to treat any of these side effects.

For the Moderna vaccine,side effects tend to be stronger with the second dose. The types of side effects are the same and should still only last a day or two.

Often the side effects are just a sign that the vaccine is doing its job: itcan happen with many vaccines that some people might feel slightly unwell because their immune system is responding to the protein, but this is not a Covid-19 illness and the vaccine cant give you coronavirus.

As with other Covid vaccines, youre very unlikely to get any serious side effects, as these are very rare. Some people experience temporary side effects such as soreness at the injection site, tiredness, headache, fever, muscle pain, or joint pain. You can take paracetamol to treat these and they dont usually last more than a couple of days.

If you are eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine, you should have been invited by your GP or the NHS to book an appointment.

You need to be registered with a GP to book your vaccine appointment. Anyone in the UK can register with a GP, and you wont be asked for any proof of identity or your immigration status to register.

It may take a few weeks to build up protection from your first dose. Your body should respond more quickly to any future doses.

Having a fear of needles (trypanophobia) is very common - it affects up to 1 in 10 people and is nothing to be ashamed of. Visit our information on managing your fear of needles.

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Covid vaccines: your questions answered - BHF - British Heart Foundation