Poll - Pfizer only - side effects from Covid Vaccine

[ktgrok]

Figured a poll would give a better numbers view of the info in the other post. 

Please answer only for YOURSELF. And only for Pfizer vaccine. I'll make another poll for Moderna , and the other vaccines as I have time. 

It only gives you so many options to use, so if you had a side effect not listed, you can include it in your response. 

 

Edited April 28, 2021 by ktgrok

[mommyoffive]

Oh that would be helpful if you are haven't been vaccinated.  

[Garga]

I get my 2nd dose next week and will reply then. 

For the first dose, only a sore arm.

The poll won’t let me log in my results for just the first shot. I have to have answers for all of the questions. So, if this is still here next week, I’ll reply then! 🙂

Edited April 28, 2021 by Garga

[Lecka]

I had no side effects from either shot.  I can't submit because there is no option for me on the third question.  

[Farrar]

My kids had the Pfizer (I had Moderna, so I'm not answering) but BalletBoy had the rare and weird side effect that it messed with his taste buds for a couple of days. It was a big surprise - he ate something a couple hours after and immediately spit it out because he thought it had gone off (it had definitely not). I've since read that this is an uncommon thing - it usually is a metallic taste that people have. It was over in about 48 hours or a bit more. Only happened with the first dose.

[frogger]

3 minutes ago, Lecka said:

I had no side effects from either shot.  I can't submit because there is no option for me on the third question.  

Was just going to make this comment.

I did put I had a sore arm after second shot but really it was hardly noticeable. Mostly, I could only tell if I actually pressed on my arm. Perhaps I should have put "no side effects" for both. I wouldn't have even noticed except I was paying attention for the v-safe question which made me actually think about it.

[cintinative]

So, as someone with a neurological condition, I count "sleepy" as different than "fatigue"

I was sleepy with the 2nd shot, not fatigued.  I wanted a nap, but I didn't have all over body fatigue. 

[sangtarah]

I had a sore arm after the first dose. I had the second dose yesterday, so I can’t answer the poll yet. So far, I didn’t sleep well - hot/cold - I have a very mild headache, and a tad achy. 

[Sherry in OH]

My side effect from the second shot isn't listed.  I had some stiffness in my arm the morning after my injection and it was sore if I touched it, but otherwise unnoticeable.  Where I did feel discomfort was in my upper left breast.  The lymph nodes in my armpit had swollen.  I am well-enough endowed that using my arms without brushing against my breasts is nearly impossible.  Anytime  I moved my left arm, I felt it not in the arm but in the breast. The swelling and resultant tenderness subsided after a few days.   

[mom2scouts]

I answered that I have not had Covid to the best of my knowledge, but it's possible I did. After traveling to an international sporting event in another state in late February, I got a bad cough (not unusual for me as it's the main symptom of my allergies) and woke up 3 nights in a row having difficulty catching my breath (which has never happened to me before). Also, I had an ocular migraine less than a week after the second dose which could be a side effect since I've never had one before.

[ktgrok]

50 minutes ago, Lecka said:

I had no side effects from either shot.  I can't submit because there is no option for me on the third question.  

Fixed that!

[Indigo Blue]

Thank you for setting up all these polls!

[theelfqueen]

I've only had the first dose so far...I had a really sore arm for days and fatigue for a day or two. 

[JennyD]

Good poll!  I like the way you have it laid out.

[Not_a_Number]

Data, data, I love me some data 😄 . Thanks for doing these, @ktgrok! 

[bluemongoose]

I've only had shot 1. I will have to get back to this poll in a couple weeks when I get the 2nd shot.

The first reactions: Sore arm (not really bad at all). A headache that took me out for just over 24hrs. I was dizzy and light headed when I got up. The fatigue lasted an additional day after the headache/light headedness. So in total it was about 48 hours of symptoms. I tend to react strongly to medicine and usually skip a flu shot because the efficacy is so low usually it isn't worth 3 days of illness to take it. I am not sure if I have had COVID or not before...if I did it was in late Dec 2019. 

[YaelAldrich]

With my 1st dose only a mildly sore arm.  With the second shot, I had the sore arm (a little more sore) but I also got a lump on my arm (NOT at the injection site, which had a little bruise) and itchiness for a week.

[ktgrok]

20 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Data, data, I love me some data 😄 . Thanks for doing these, @ktgrok! 

I thought of you while making it 🙂

[Not_a_Number]

17 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

I thought of you while making it 🙂

Hah, thank you! 😄 

May I make a small suggestion? 

[ktgrok]

5 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Hah, thank you! 😄 

May I make a small suggestion? 

Of course - but keep in mind it limits me to 20 options per question, and only 3 questions (or how ever many I had)

[Not_a_Number]

1 minute ago, ktgrok said:

Of course - but keep in mind it limits me to 20 options per question, and only 3 questions (or how ever many I had)

Oh, I didn't realize there was a question limit! Ugh. Never mind, then -- I was seeing that most people didn't answer the "symptom duration" questions, but I guess there's nothing to be done there. 

[sbgrace]

2 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Oh, I didn't realize there was a question limit! Ugh. Never mind, then -- I was seeing that most people didn't answer the "symptom duration" questions, but I guess there's nothing to be done there. 

I only noticed that duration section after I hit submit. I can't edit it.

I'm not sure how I would have voted, though. Largely, I would say mild/did not interfere.

However, after my first shot my arm pain was pretty bad--it interfered with my sleep for two nights and I couldn't exercise, or reach, using that arm either. My second shot was easier in that respect, though I had many more symptoms post second shot. 

[Junie]

2 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

Oh, I didn't realize there was a question limit! Ugh. Never mind, then -- I was seeing that most people didn't answer the "symptom duration" questions, but I guess there's nothing to be done there. 

 

2 hours ago, sbgrace said:

I only noticed that duration section after I hit submit. I can't edit it.

 

 

Same.  I missed the question at the end and can't edit.

I would say that the vaccine didn't interfere.

[Lecka]

My son’s high school happened to hold a vaccine clinic the day after he turned 16 and we were able to sign him up!  He saw some kids he knew.  He didn’t have any side effects and hasn’t heard of any from other kids — but he also might not hear if other kids were having side effects.

They are going to have the same clinic for the second dose in two weeks.  
 

We have heard people say they have more side effects from the second dose and I am curious to see what my son hears.  My niece (age 17) has had both doses and no side effects, but for whatever reason almost everyone I know or hear about had had Moderna.  I had a choice and picked Pfizer since it would be the same one my oldest would get, and probably my younger kids also.  

[PinkTulip]

Thanks for compiling this info!

[Denise in IN]

Great poll!  Just adding a couple of things to my responses.

The day after my second dose, I felt like I was getting a fever.  But there was no fever!  So I just call it a general cruddy feeling.  But not enough to keep me from normal life.

My husband had a sore arm and some fatigue after both shots, probably a bit more after the second.  Very minimal.

My kids (ages 16, 16, 19, 21) have all had one shot, and their only side effect was a sore arm.

[edelweiss]

I had one extremely minor side effect that you didn't have listed.  I had mild tenderness under my arms (in my armpits) after both shots. Both of my daughters had the same thing.

 

So, for me:

Never had COVID

 

After 1st Pfizer shot:

Mildly sore arm at injection site

Mild discomfort in armpits

 

After 2nd Pfizer shot:

Mildly sore arm at injection site

Mild discomfort in armpits

A slight headache the day after the shot BUT I sometimes get headaches, so I don't even know if I should attribute it to that

 

My symptoms were incredibly mild and did not slow me down in any way.  

 

 

[LaughingCat]

9 hours ago, Sherry in OH said:

My side effect from the second shot isn't listed.  I had some stiffness in my arm the morning after my injection and it was sore if I touched it, but otherwise unnoticeable.  Where I did feel discomfort was in my upper left breast.  The lymph nodes in my armpit had swollen.  I am well-enough endowed that using my arms without brushing against my breasts is nearly impossible.  Anytime  I moved my left arm, I felt it not in the arm but in the breast. The swelling and resultant tenderness subsided after a few days.   

Me too, swelling all the way up into my armpit -- could feel it every time I moved my arm.  Only on 2nd shot.

[Longtime Lurker]

I had one side effect not listed. After both shots, I had mild tingling/numbness in my left arm (where I had the shot). I noticed it about 20 min after the first shot, but dismissed it as just finger numbness as it was January in Michigan and I have Reynaud's. Then I noticed it again after the second shot, but this time it extended to my face and legs an hour or so after the shot. It did not affect any functioning (walking, driving, etc.) and was not unpleasant. However, it was slightly alarming so I texted my (doctor) sister who said it was normal and not to worry so I didn't 🙂 

Aside from the odd but not unpleasant tingling, I had a VERY sore arm about 15 hours after the first shot (woke me up in the night!) and a splitting headache from about 30-35 hours after the second shot. Nothing that affected my normal functioning (as a parent of a special needs young adult I can push through almost anything) and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Every year if needed, no problem.

[Annie G]

I picked the ‘Aches and pain other than injection site’ but I can be more specific. I have some kind of arthritis issue- I take meloxican daily- and though the  doc thought rheumatoid arthritis, the bloodwork just indicated some kind of autoimmune, not rheumatoid arthritis.  But in any case, after each dose I had a flare. Several days of hands being very stiff, difficulty making a fist, etc.   And the same in my knees.   It wasn’t weather related or activity related, as the weather was fine and I didn’t do anything the day before to make my hands/knees hurt. 
The arm soreness lasted more than 24 hours but less than 48. 

[Dmmetler]

Both DH and I have arthritis and both of us had a lot more pain in affected joints (for him, one knee due to a past staph infection, for me, both knees and hips). It took DH about a week to feel normal after each, and about 3 days for me (which is usually hav illnesses go, too. I get hit hard, but tend to recover quickly, he gets hit with more drawn out symptoms). 
 

My 16 yr old had slight brain fog after the first one and about 6 hours of 103 degree fever and chills after the second, but wa completely fine by 24 hours after the shot. I guess it’s good to be young! 

[annandatje]

I polled as no side effects from either first or second dose.  However, I do not consider a sore arm as a "side effect."  If a needle is stuck into arm, I expect mild to significant soreness.  

[Not_a_Number]

1 hour ago, annandatje said:

I polled as no side effects from either first or second dose.  However, I do not consider a sore arm as a "side effect."  If a needle is stuck into arm, I expect mild to significant soreness.  

I don't think arm soreness is just the needle, having had blood draws. 

[Eos]

Three weeks out from my second Pfizer, I think my tinnitus is actually worse, though not constant.  Louder when it's on.  This observation is not controlled for the coffee variable, though.

DD16 had the super-tired-yucky-feeling-24 hours following her second Pfizer, same as DH.

[MEmama]

I got my second dose on Tuesday.

First dose, no reaction. 

Second, very mild joint and muscle discomfort for a few hours the following day, and some skin sensitivity like I get before I come down with something. None of that would have interfered with normal activity at all. Today I feel 100%.

I voted that I hadn’t had COVID, but in reality me bringing it home was the only possible way DS could have been infected when he had COVID toes in May 2020, so it’s more probable I had it and was essentially asymptomatic. 

[Eos]

1 hour ago, Seasider too said:

Please tell me more about your tinnitus and the “coffee variable.”

My tinnitus has always been worse when I'm drinking more than a cup a day.  I'm at about 3 cups a day right now, so I can't decide whether the second shot made it worse or if it's the coffee!  I think it's the shot, since I don't remember it being quite this bad earlier this winter when I was drinking the same amount of coffee.  

[kristin0713]

On 4/28/2021 at 9:49 AM, ktgrok said:

Please answer only for YOURSELF.

I answered for DH before I read this, sorry! He had minimal side effects after both shots. Only a sore arm. 

[Matryoshka]

Dh and I both had Pfizer. I had a sore arm both times, no biggie, just couldn't sleep on that side (1 night first shot, 2 nights second). I may have had a low-grade headache the first day after the first shot, but not even enough to bother with Tylenol. Nothing w/ second. 

Dh said he got a cold sweat overnight after the second shot,  but then felt fine enough after waking to spend about 12 hours that day moving dd's apartment including lifting heavy furniture up and down stairs.

My kid who got Pfizer,  and may or may not have had Covid super early on (diagnosed pneumonia in Mar 2020, but no idea if it was actually covid), had a fever over 100 after the first Pfizer,  and they never get fevers. 2nd dose, I think was uneventful. 

[Loowit]

I have never had covid to my knowledge.  I did get tested twice.  Once when I have having some symptoms, but it turned out to be a sinus infection and the second time was before a medical procedure.

After my first shot:  I started getting tinnitus a few hours afterward.  I had fatigue, headache, nausea, and general feeling unwell.  I got covid arm about a week and half after the shot.

After my second shot:  Tinnitus got worse a few hours afterword.  I have worse fatigue than before.  Headache; nausea; redness, soreness/pain, itching, and swelling at injection site.  A week after the shot I got hives, no idea if it is related or not.  I am about a week and half out from the shot, and am just starting to get my energy back.

DD also has never had covid to the best of our knowledge.  She had no reaction to the first shot except for very minor soreness at the injection site.  The second shot she got a bit more soreness, fatigue for a day or two, and a headache.

[TravelingChris]

I had no side effects either time, though I do think with the second,  I had one point where I touched the area where I had the shot and it was slightly tender.

[Loowit]

Just now, Seasider too said:

How’s the tinnitus?

It is about the same level as it got after the second shot, although once in a while it will get louder for a few minutes at a time.  It is a constant high pitch ringing, and it is starting to get more annoying.  I have an appointment with and audiologist to test my hearing and then I will see my ENT to find out what is going on and what they can do, but the soonest I can get in is the end of the month.

[RootAnn]

As of right now, it looks like sore arm is pretty prevalent 76/89 for 1st shot & 73/89 for second shot. Similar results for Moderna (43/49, 41/49) although Moderna seems more likely to cause the sore arm.

Roughly 6-12% of the Pfizer recipients report no side effects for the 1st or 2nd shots, but basically zero Moderna recipients had no side effects.

The next most common side effects  (after sore arm) for first shot were fatigue & headache. For second shots, fatigue, headache, fever, and chills were felt by 15-45% of recipients (lower than Moderna). Around 40% of Pfizer recipients reported their second shot side effects were enough to interfere with normal activities for at least a bit (vs. just over half Moderna on 2nd shot).

Based on the Hive's non-scientific poll, Pfizer recipients have less side effects overall.

[EKS]

On 4/28/2021 at 7:36 AM, Farrar said:

My kids had the Pfizer (I had Moderna, so I'm not answering) but BalletBoy had the rare and weird side effect that it messed with his taste buds for a couple of days. It was a big surprise - he ate something a couple hours after and immediately spit it out because he thought it had gone off (it had definitely not). I've since read that this is an uncommon thing - it usually is a metallic taste that people have. It was over in about 48 hours or a bit more. Only happened with the first dose.

I had this with the second dose of Pfizer.  For me it was a heightened sensitivity to bitter.  I thought I was losing my mind until I found that funny taste things were happening to other people as well.  It suddenly went away between when I had my coffee in the morning of the fifth day post vaccination and when I ate a few hours later.  It may also have happened with the first dose, but I'm not sure.

[EKS]

On 4/29/2021 at 9:55 AM, Not_a_Number said:

I don't think arm soreness is just the needle, having had blood draws.

It's not.  It has to do with the immune response.

[Not_a_Number]

31 minutes ago, EKS said:

It's not.  It has to do with the immune response.

Yeah, didn’t think so.

[TexasProud]

I said no reaction either time. 

 

My bleeding happened 3 weeks after the second shot, so I am unclear as to whether it was a cause or not.   

[Farrar]

2 hours ago, EKS said:

I had this with the second dose of Pfizer.  For me it was a heightened sensitivity to bitter.  I thought I was losing my mind until I found that funny taste things were happening to other people as well.  It suddenly went away between when I had my coffee in the morning of the fifth day post vaccination and when I ate a few hours later.  It may also have happened with the first dose, but I'm not sure.

For my kid, he got home, I made lunch, he took a bite of my roast potatoes, and spit it back at me and pronounced that it was rotten. I was like, um, huh. Everyone agreed there was nothing wrong with them, but he thought they all tasted wrong. And that the sandwich wasn't right - though that he ate. Then all weekend, he kept bringing me things and saying, "Does this taste off to you?" I swear, he spent the whole weekend just eating Doritos because they tasted "right." By two days out, we had googled and found out other people had this issue with the Pfizer. And it had started to fade. He said it came back with less extremity for a few days and then faded entirely.

[Caraway]

On 4/28/2021 at 7:36 AM, Farrar said:

My kids had the Pfizer (I had Moderna, so I'm not answering) but BalletBoy had the rare and weird side effect that it messed with his taste buds for a couple of days. It was a big surprise - he ate something a couple hours after and immediately spit it out because he thought it had gone off (it had definitely not). I've since read that this is an uncommon thing - it usually is a metallic taste that people have. It was over in about 48 hours or a bit more. Only happened with the first dose.

I had the same thing.  It was SO GROSS.  I had heard that it could last weeks, but for me it disappeared after a few days.  I had a very metallic taste, like my whole mouth was full of nickels. 

Edited May 6, 2021 by Caraway

[marbel]

I voted that I had a sore arm each time, but really it was so minor. It took pressure, like leaning against a wall, or trying to sleep on that side, to make it hurt.  Very fine line between that an "no reaction."

[Garga]

Got my 2nd Pfizer dose yesterday.  If you remember, I posted that for the first dose the lady jammed me really hard with the needle and it hurt a lot.

I got the same lady. I told her that this time, please don’t jam my arm—my arm is scrawnier than it looks. So, she was very gentle and it felt normal—just a little spot of pain. 

1st shot: sore arm.

2nd shot: same sore arm, but then felt slightly achy this morning, as if I was at the beginning of a fever. Feeling very sluggish. I normally am bouncing around the house and enjoy getting things done, but I just don’t care right now. Have been sitting on the couch for hours perfectly content to sit here and do nothing. I thought the aches were going away, but just got up to grab a drink and I think they’d be there if I was moving more.

If I had to work or run after kids, I’d be able to do it, but I’m very glad I don’t have to, because I feel sluggish and run down, but not sick.