What to Expect After Your COVID-19 Vaccine

Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect you and your family from getting seriously ill with COVID-19. After your vaccine shots, you may experience some side effects. The most common ones are a sore arm, muscle aches, headache, feeling tired, chills or fever.

Similar side effects are reported in adults and children. Even if the side effects are strong enough to affect your daily activities, they should go away in a few days. Side effects aren’t a sign you have COVID- 19. The available vaccines don’t contain live coronavirus and can’t make you sick with COVID-19.

If you develop symptoms including fever, sore throat, stuffy nose, altered taste or smell, cough, breathing problems, diarrhea or vomiting, these might mean that you’ve developed a COVID-19 infection before the vaccine started working. Consider getting a PCR or antigen test and isolating if you think you may have COVID.

If you think you’re having a severe allergic reaction, call 911 immediately.

When to Call Your Doctor

Call your primary care provider or your child’s pediatrician if symptoms continue to worsen, new symptoms are experienced that aren’t listed above, or the shot area gets increasingly red and tender after 24 hours.

Building Immunity

Side effects are a sign your body is building immunity. For most adults, at least one dose of an updated formulation of COVID-19 vaccine is necessary to stay protected. Young children or immunocompromised patients may require more than one dose to stay up to date. Consult the CDC website for the latest updates. Unless a provider tells you not to, you should get an updated COVID-19 vaccine, even if you have had minor side effects from the vaccines in the past.

It takes time for your body to build protection after vaccination. You’ll have maximum protection from the virus 14 days after receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine.

Helpful Tips

You can alleviate most side effects through simple measures at home. Taking acetaminophen (Tylenol) after your vaccination can help reduce symptoms like fever and aches. For soreness in your arm, apply a cool, wet washcloth where you got the shot. Using and exercising your arm can also help. Contact your doctor or book a Video Visit if the redness or tenderness where your shot was given gets worse after 24 hours or your side effects are severe and don’t go away in a few days.