The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must reveal Covid vaccine side effects to those who will get their first shot, say doctors.
During a virtual meeting with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a group of medical experts that advises CDC, public health authorities and drugmakers urged the center to be transparent about the Covid vaccine side effects.
According to Dr. Sandra Fryhofer of the American Medical Association, the coronavirus vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna require two doses at varying intervals. She is concerned about whether her patients will return for a second dose because of the possible side effects they may experience after their first shot.
“We really need to make patients aware that this is not going to be a walk in the park,” Fryhofer said during the meeting. “They are going to know they had a vaccine. They are probably not going to feel wonderful. But they’ve got to come back for that second dose,” she added.
CNBC learned from participants of Moderna and Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine trials in September that they had experienced body aches, high fever, daylong exhaustion, headaches, and other symptoms after taking their shots.
Pfizer and Moderna mentioned that their coronavirus vaccines could give people side effects that are similar to symptoms manifested by those with mild Covid-19, such as chills, muscle pain, and headache.
A 50-year-old female participant from North Carolina in the Moderna study said she did not have any fever but suffered a bad migraine that left her exhausted for a day and incapable of focusing. But she woke up the next day feeling better after taking Excedrin. However, she believes that Moderna must inform people to rest after a second dose.
“If this proves to work, people are going to have to toughen up,” she said. “The first dose is no big deal. And then the second dose will definitely put you down for the day for sure. ... You will need to take a day off after the second dose.”
Positive terms for Covid vaccine side effects
Meanwhile, Patsy Stinchfield, a Children’s Minnesota nurse practitioner, said authorities and drugmakers must discuss the side effects in a more positive way. She noted they could use terms such as “response” instead of “adverse reaction.”
“These are immune responses,” said Stinchfield, a former voting member of the committee. “And so if you feel something after vaccination, you should expect to feel that. When you do, it’s normal to have some arm soreness or fatigue, some body aches and maybe even a fever. It sounds like in some of these trials, maybe even having to stay home from work.”
“You hear some people in the trials that are disappointed that they didn’t have any of those things, feeling they must have gotten a placebo,” she noted.
The ACIP meeting comes three days after Pfizer and BioNTech applied for an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for their coronavirus vaccine.
The ACIP is expected to hold an emergency meeting to present specific recommendations on vaccine distribution once the FDA authorizes a vaccine.
