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If you experience these side effects, it means your coronavirus vaccine is working

Published Feb 19th, 2021 2:31PM EST
Coronavirus vaccine
Image: Aleksej/Adobe

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  • Through Friday morning, more than 59 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered in the US.
  • There are side effects associated with the vaccine to be aware of, which aren’t cause for concern and which reaffirm that the vaccine is working.
  • These COVID side effects include low-grade fever, pain at the injection site, and fatigue.

As a consequence of the winter weather that’s pummeled much of the US this week, the distribution and administration of coronavirus vaccine doses was interrupted across the country, with more than a dozen states having announced that their vaccination campaigns have been stalled because of the cold and winter storms.

As the weather starts to subside in the coming days, however, that trend will improve and reverse itself, and we’ll be back on track, vaccinating as many Americans as possible, as fast as possible. Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker is showing that through Friday morning, 59.1 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered in the US since vaccinations began back in December, with around 1.58 million doses per day being administered on average. That’s great news, but it still means that plenty of people have not yet received their first jab, something that White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci has said might not happen for a few more months, still. This is why it will be important for those people, especially, to be aware of something related to the COVID vaccine side effects if they’re not already.

There’s an easy way to tell that your vaccine is working, according to Dr. Amanda Cohn, a member of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. In comments she gave a few days ago, she said there are three side effects that people should be aware of once they get their shot.

One is pain at the site of the injection. Another is fatigue, with some people reporting feeling wiped out after receiving their second dose of the vaccine.

Additionally, Dr. Cohn said to be prepared to deal with a low-grade fever — which, again, is a sign that your vaccine is doing its job in building up your body’s defenses to fight the coronavirus. Moreover, these side effects are said to only last a couple of days or so. But, as noted, none of these should give anyone cause for concern. “It’s not COVID,” she said. “It’s your body building an immune response to the protein that is mimicking the disease.”

In related news about the vaccine, the US vaccine supply is predicted to see a rapid expansion in the coming weeks. A Bloomberg analysis shows that the supply should double over the short-term, which would make for a major expansion in the number of vaccine doses able to be administered.

Andy Meek Trending News Editor

Andy Meek is a reporter based in Memphis who has covered media, entertainment, and culture for over 20 years. His work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Forbes, and The Financial Times, and he’s written for BGR since 2015. Andy's coverage includes technology and entertainment, and he has a particular interest in all things streaming.

Over the years, he’s interviewed legendary figures in entertainment and tech that range from Stan Lee to John McAfee, Peter Thiel, and Reed Hastings.