INDIANAPOLIS — Whichever COVID vaccine you choose, you could be looking at some side effects in the day or two after getting your shot.
Doctors say that’s a likely sign your immune system is doing what it’s supposed to do, preparing your body to fight the coronavirus if exposed.
“A strong immune response sometimes can get you a little bit of reactions from the vaccination and that’s not inappropriate,” said Dr. Nicolas Barros, an infectious disease doctor with IU Health.
The most common side effects reported are some pain and swelling at the injection site and flu-like symptoms like fever, body aches, headache, exhaustion and chills.
If that’s what happens after you get the vaccine, the CDC recommends taking over-the-counter pain medications like ibuprofen, aspirin, antihistamines or Tylenol.
But that’s after you get the shot and have symptoms - not before.
The CDC recommends not taking anything right before you get the vaccine, because it could reduce the efficacy of the shot.
“These medications are anti-inflammatories, so they prevent inflammation, which is part of the immune response. So, if you use them before, we really don’t know what’s going to be the side effect on this vaccination because there’s not enough data to support one way or the other,” Barros explained.
If you take other medicines regularly, the CDC recommends you keep taking them, even as you get the vaccine.
“The chances are that the vaccinations will be helpful regardless with these medications,” said Barros.
While possible side effects from the COVID vaccine may be uncomfortable, Barros said, "if people really want to go back to normal and not worry about masks, then this is the route."