WOMEN and those under 40 are more likely to suffer side effects from Covid vaccines including “aches and pains”, according to an expert.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist based at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University, revealed experts are now trying to work out why.
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He told the New York Post: “Women and younger people have more local reactions – a sore arm, a day of not feeling so well, or aches and pains.
“People wonder if it’s because women have more estrogen but that remains to be studied.
“The short answer is there’s got to be reasons for it but we don’t know what they are.”
However, experts are quick to point out that a reaction to the jab is no indication to how vulnerable someone is to the actual virus.
“I don’t think that there’s any relationship between your reaction to the vaccine and what would have happened to you had you gotten infected with the virus,” said Dr Schaffner.
And those battling to beat the pandemic say even if someone suffers side effects that does not mean it will not be effective in warding off the virus.
Dr. William Moss, a vaccines expert from Johns Hopkins University, told CBS: ““[There are] no implications for protective efficacy…No implications for how your body would respond if you got infected.”
Earlier this year, a study revealed the most common Covid vaccine side effects are flu-like symptoms, tiredness and a headache.
A safety report published by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency found people also suffered with arm pain and fever.
They revealed most people had “mild and short lasting” side effects in line with “a normal immune response to vaccines – including a sore arm and fatigue”.
The most frequently reported reactions are injection-site tenderness and pain, headaches, fatigue, joint and muscle pain, fever, chills and nausea.
However, some people in the US claimed they have been left with a metal taste in their mouth after receiving their jabs.
Sun columnist Dr Zoe Williams said having side effects to a vaccine is actually a good thing.
She said: “It’s natural to worry about side effects, and as with any vaccine there may be some mild ones.
“Like with the flu jab, there have been reports of some people feeling tired, having a slight headache and sore, aching muscles afterwards.
“While you might feel a bit rubbish, it’s normal, lasts only a couple of days and is actually a good sign the jab is working.
“It doesn’t mean you are seriously infected, it means your immune system is kicking in and is primed to jump at the first sign of a Covid infection.”
Millions of Brits have now been vaccinated against Covid-19 with the government stating that all adults will have had a first dose by the end of July.
