Most of the side effects are signs that the vaccine is working.
The Danish package leaflet for the coronavirus vaccine, which we will shortly be offered a shot of in the upper arm , has just been published. It says, among other things, what side effects the two small plugs can cause.
And the list of side effects is similar to anything seen before. It is positive, says Jens Lundgren, professor of infectious disease medicine at Rigshospitalet.
– These side effects are not unique – on the contrary, they are well known, he says.
He calls the data material on both the approved vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech and the upcoming Moderna vaccine “solid”, and although there are side effects to getting the vaccine, one should not refrain from getting a sting.
– The benefits clearly outweigh the side effects, says Jens Lundgren.
Important to talk about side effects
According to Jens Lundgren, there is something far more dangerous than the side effects themselves: ignorance of them.
According to Jens Lundgren, a horror scenario would be to get the vaccine and start feeling some of the common side effects without knowing what it was.
– We need to talk about these things. That’s the way it is. And basically, one should not be afraid of side effects, he says.
– But you have to be aware that they exist and are, by and large, quite common.
In the chart below, you can see and compare the most common side effects for three vaccines: the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, the Moderna vaccine , which is expected to be approved in early January, and the version of the flu vaccine that we have vaccinated with this year.
