The CDC should warn people that the side effects of shooting will not be “walking in the park”.
A volunteer receives an injection of vaccine while participating in a coronavirus vaccination study (COVID-19) at the Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida on September 24, 2020.
Marco Bello | Reuters
Public health officials and drug manufacturers must be transparent about the side effects people may experience after receiving their first coronavirus vaccine, doctors urged during a Monday meeting with CDC advisers as states prepare to distribute doses next month.
Dr. Sandra Fryhofer of the American Medical Association noted that Pfizer’s Covid-19 and Moderna vaccines require two doses at varying intervals. As a practicing physician, she said she was concerned that her patients would return for a second dose because of the potentially unpleasant side effects they might experience after the first injection.
“We really need to educate patients that this is not going to be a walk in the park,” Fryhofer said in a virtual meeting with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, an external group of medical experts who advise the CDC. She also liaises with the committee. “They’re going to know that they’ve received a vaccine. They’re probably not going to feel well. But they have to come back for that second dose.”
Participants in the Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccine trials told CNBC in September that they experienced high fever, aches, severe headaches, daytime fatigue, and other symptoms after receiving the injections. While the symptoms were uncomfortable and sometimes intense, participants said they often left after a day, sometimes earlier, and that it was better than taking Covid-19.
Both companies acknowledged that their vaccines could induce side effects similar to the symptoms associated with mild Covid-19, such as muscle aches, chills and headaches.
One woman in the Moderna study from North Carolina in her 50s said she had not had a fever, but had suffered a severe migraine that left her exhausted for a day and unable to concentrate. She said she woke up the next day feeling better after taking Excedrin, but added that Moderna may need to tell people to take a day off after a second dose.
“If this proves to be effective, people are going to have to toughen up,” she said. “The first dose is not a big problem. And then the second dose will certainly lower you for the day. … You’ll have to take a day off after the second dose.”
At Monday’s meeting, Patsy Stinchfield, a children’s nurse practitioner in Minnesota, said officials and drug makers could try to talk about side effects in a more positive way. She said they could use language such as “response” instead of “adverse reaction.
“These are immune responses,” said Stinchfield, a former voting member of the committee. “And so if you feel something after vaccination, you should expect to feel that. When you do, it’s normal to have arm pain or fatigue, aches and pains and maybe even a fever. This is similar to some of these tests, perhaps even having to stay home from work. “
“You hear some people in the trials who are disappointed that they didn’t get any of this, feeling that they must have gotten a placebo,” she added.
The committee meeting comes three days after Pfizer and its partner BioNTech applied to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency licensure of their coronavirus vaccine.
The FDA process is expected to take a few weeks, and an advisory committee meeting to review the vaccine is scheduled for early December. Some Americans could receive their first dose of the vaccine in about a month.
ACIP is expected to convene an emergency meeting to make specific recommendations on distribution once the FDA approves a vaccine.
Federal agencies are already sending out immunization plans to staff. Five agencies have begun telling their staff that they could receive Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna in as little as eight weeks, v
Federal agencies are already sending vaccination plans to staff. Five agencies have begun telling their employees that they could receive Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna in as little as eight weeks, a person with first-hand knowledge of the plans told CNBC Friday.
