The new Moderna vaccine kicking anyone else's ass?
Up until now, I've only gotten the Pfizer vaccines. And while I've reacted to them, it was never particularly bad. Light muscle aches and some fatigue were basically it. Worst was the second one - I could feel my hair follicles and eyelids with that one.
But the Moderna one seems to be quite the beast.
When I found out I could get the new Moderna, I was excited, since I've heard that mix-and-match is probably the strongest immunity you can get. And I figured it wasn't going to be that bad when after several hours, I only had some light fatigue.
But today has been awful. Consistent fever around 102.3, chills, headache, nausea, whole-body aches, and ludicrous levels of exhaustion. I've been utterly useless.
Is this what Moderna vaccines have been like all along? I'll take it over contracting COVID-19, definitely... but ouch. It's hurting me plenty.
Next morning update: Chills are gone, fever seems to be gone, muscle aches aren't entirely gone, but they're fading. All in all, 10/10 would feel like shit for a day again to help stop the spread of a dangerous disease.
I think the moderna dosing is still double the pfizer dose. So I think it's always caused a larger immune response. Ibuprofen will deal with most of those symptoms if you're really not feeling good.
I believe one can't 1:1 compare the dosage, Pfizer's MRNA was supposed to be a little more stable and hence less of it was needed. But, yeah, Moderna's dosage is higher.
I've gotten both over the years and Moderna always knocked me out harder, but never like OP. Symptoms have always been medium to strong fatigue and at most a mild headache.
I haven't gotten the new booster yet.
Moderna absolutely kicked my ass, I had the worst body aches I've ever experienced to the point that I was curled up in a ball on the floor until the double dose of Tylenol started kicking in.
I just got the Pfizer booster recently and had hardly any side effects at all.
It helped to remind myself that I felt like shit because my immune system was at work. It's a sign (albeit an unwelcome one) that the vaccine is working.
Yep, better than getting COVID. It only lasted about 10 hours.
Every shot and booster I've had made me feel like shit for several days, and made my arm throb as if I'd been shot for about a week.
But if my choice is between that and long covid, well, I'm chosing the shot lol.
Bingo. I have extended family with long COVID and it sucks ass. My father-in-law used to be the strongest and most active guy I knew. Woodland firefighter, constantly doing stuff with his hands. All of that is over now. Long COVID has wrecked him. He's probably going to be on supplemental oxygen for the rest of his life.
Oddly enough, none of the COVID vaccines or boosters have affected me in any significant way... but... I got my flu shot last week and it hit me like a freight train. I was having to fight to speak clearly in a work meeting thirty minutes after the injection, but on the plus side, it's nice to know my body's building an immune response.
I'm glad someone else has an immune system that doesn't hate them, I'm going in later this week and this crowd was making me feel anxious even though I've never had a reaction to vaccines.
Your experience matches every shot I’ve had with Moderna. I’m planning to get Pfizer this time around, in the hopes that it goes easier on my body 🤞
According to my records i've had Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Apart from a sore arm and maybe a bit tired, i thankfully had no other symptoms.
I think it’s good if you have a strong immune system response to the vax. It means your immune system will be charged up with antibodies.
I always plan to take 1-2 days off after getting vaccinated.
That's what I should have done. Oh well. At least I'm feeling a lot better this morning. C'est la vie.
The old Pfizer doses would shut me down for 3 days.
Fever, chills, body aches, fatigue.
The first shot wasn't so bad. The second and third were insane.
I'm pretty sure I've had a fourth shot, but I don't remember how I felt. I think I got covid last year, after already having the third shot, and I've been dealing with symptoms for over a year now (mostly muscle fatigue).
I want the new shot with the new variant mix, but I'm also afraid of how I'm going to react to it. I have too much going on at work and home right now to take half a week off for the shot.
I have a pretty crummy immune system and have always dealt with autoimmune issues, so it's important that I get the shot, even if I react badly to it. :/
My immune system is compromised by a low level form of leukemia.
I was scared when I took the first Pfizer -- no side effects.
The second one was painful as hell. The others were no problem.
Then I got Covid last week for the second time anyway.
That sucks, sorry to hear it. I hope it was at least a mild case.
Normal. After I took it, I was feeling like I’d done an intense all body workout, like all my muscles felt sore. Was basically done the next day.
Haven't gotten the new vaccine yet, but my first moderna gave me some chills, headache, and fatigue, I didn't check my temperature but I wouldn't have been surprised if I had a slight fever. It hit me maybe 8-12 ish hours after I got it, not too bad, but not exactly fun either, could have worked through it if I needed to but I was glad I had the day off. The real kicker for me though was I work night shift, I got it right after work in the morning, went home, went to bed, and it started hitting me a bit after I got up the next evening, and by the time I was ready to go to sleep the next morning I was feeling fine. If I'd been on a normal schedule and got the vaccine at the same time, I probably would have been going to bed at about the same time it hit me and I would have slept through all of the symptoms.
Most of my boosters have been moderna, and I haven't had any issues with them besides a sore arm, so I think the first dose was my immune system going "hey wait, what the fuck is this? We got a code red over here" And with the boosters it pretty much just went "oh, ok, another one of these, go ahead and put it with the others, no biggie"
The one Pfizer vaccine I did get didn't seem to make my arm quite as sore as the others. So that's something I guess.
So interesting to hear all of the individual reactions. I had the Pfizer primary series - the first shot was rough but the second shot, and the Moderna booster I had later, only caused some arm pain.
I just had my fourth shot, the Moderna Spikefax, along with the flu shot at the same time. Caused malaise overnight and pain in the COVID shot location for 3 days.
Whatever pain and inconvenience the vaccine shots cause it's nothing like having COVID. Ask me how I know.
I'm going to take a wild guess here: You or people you know have had COVID and it sucks donkey balls?
When I took the Moderna two dose in 2021, I was stuck in bed having fever dreams for a couple of days. Like I was hallucinating that I was in different places. Sickest I’ve ever been in my life.
Oh ick, I’m scheduled for Moderna on Friday. Oh well — I’ll be far more annoyed if it’s “rescheduled” again.
The worst I’ve had so far is that I can’t have my blood pressure checked on that arm anymore. The pressure of the cuff hurts so much that my blood pressure shoots straight up. Luckily I discovered that early enough to always get the Covid shot in that same arm.
Woah, that's weird! Like, even if it's been months since the last shot, you can't get your blood pressure read from it because it hurts too much?
Yup! I most recently let my Dr try that arm about a month ago, and I’d last had a Covid shot about 10 months before that. Of course I have no idea if each shot is continuing the problem, or if someone just goofed when they administered the first two shots and nicked something, or something.
Brand new chronic pain condition! How fun
Weird. I wonder if one of the vaccinations nicked a major nerve.
Is that effect on your arm permanent or only a short period after the shot?
Don't think I had any fever today but definitely fatigued, sore, body aches, and chills last night (vaccinated yesterday + flu). Had moderna for shots 1 & 2, and Pfizer for 3 (no real side effects I can remember). Wasn't expecting to have any side effects since they were very mild after booster 2, but definitely was wrong. Wanted to try Novavax but don't think it's been approved yet and didn't want to wait any longer
Guess I've been lucky. The first vaccine I got (which was Pfizer) made me a bit sick for a couple of days with a brutally sore arm. Since then, every booster I've gotten (Pfizer and Moderna) has just given me a sore arm for a few days. I usually get cold-like symptoms after I get a flu shot, so I guess the Covid shots aren't as hard on me somehow.
Actually the old Moderna was having such a harsh reaction on younger people, Germany changed their recommendations to not allow anyone younger than 60 to get moderna.
I also had Moderna back then once and can only confirm, it knocked me completely out for a whole day with harsh fever like symptoms, really wasn't fun.
Haven't really been vaccinated for a year now, so can't talk about the new moderna.
Yep, did that this past weekend. Not a whole hell of a lot of fun. Advil helps a lot with the fever and chills.
I really just get muscle ache and chills really bad. It lasts a day or two for me at most. What's weird is when I got my last booster of Pfizer a few months ago, I got a dtap (the giga vaccine) in both my arms at the same time and had zero sickness the next day lol. Then I took the flu vaccine and still got sick a few weeks later so I feel scammed.
Also just remember, the covid vaccine doesn't stop the spread, that is misinformation. It greatly improved your immunization towards it so you don't get nearly as sick.
It doesn't stop the spread, but it reduces it. If you are infected when vaccinated, your illness will likely be much shorter, which means much less time during which you're contagious. So the vaccines are still very important for slowing down the virus, even if you aren't guaranteed full immunity.
Moderna was the easiest on me - did not feel a thing, not even a shoulder pain. I guess this is individual.
That's the sense I'm getting, yeah. Some people are saying Pfizer is the one that really knocked them out and Moderna never did. Guess I'm just the reverse. Oh well, I do feel a lot better this morning at least.
It's well known Moderna boosters to have the most side effects like the ones you describe. I hope you're doing okay, now.
Much, much better today. Like a switch was flipped. Basically feeling fine.
I got the latest Pfizer and it knocked me out for about a day. Extreme fatigue, chills, and sore muscles all over kicked in about 10 hours after the shot, lasted about 6 hours, and then I slept after that.
Each of mine has been Pfizer but the stories I've heard about Moderna are consistent with yours
First shot of the Moderna vaccine I was not doing bad, bit tired for a week but nothing else really note worthy.
But the day after my second shot I woke up to heavy chest and heart pains. I didn't know what was the matter, my first thought was: "am I having a heart attack?!"
Couldn't move and hardly breath from pain, it took over a half hour before I could finally grab my phone and call my house doctor's office. I explained what was going on and that I had my shot the day prior. Was being told that was just a side effect from the shots and that just should take painkillers and try to tough it out. If it wasn't going any better in a day or two I should call back to make a appointment.
After a short half day a couldn't take it anymore, called my doctor back and he told me to go to the hospital.
Luckily I could come the same day and they did multiple tests. Had to stay the night because the results wouldn't be ready till the next day.
Well it turned out that had a inflamed heart muscle pouch, had to translate. Hope it's correct.
Stayed in the hospital for almost 3 weeks. I got oxygen, because I had trouble breathing and I got all I kinds of drugs all day long to help me out.
After that they said I could go home but call right away when there was any problems.
I couldn't work for almost three months and during that time went back to the hospital 2 times because returning heavy pains on my chest.
After those three months I figured it's time to go back to work but only like 2 or 3 days per week to start with because I still had breathing problems and sometimes the pain would come back.
I'm doing better but still sometimes I have trouble breathing and have to take it easy.
I didn't even wanted to get the shots but had to because of my work.
I'm sorry that happened, but you must know reactions like that are extraordinarily rare, and COVID-19 itself frequently causes much more severe heart injury.
I hope you're doing better now.
I've always gotten Moderna, and yeah, it sucks for like 36 hours. Headache, fever, chills, sore arms, fatigue. It passes pretty quickly though, and it's a hell of a lot better than getting COVID.
Seems to be passing for me now, so that lines up.
I had a very similar experience the first time I had a Pfizer shot, I think it's fairly common
Sounds about right. Haven't gotten the updated shot yet but I've gotten the first Moderna shot & later the Moderna booster. Both times I kind of went through a quick and short fever/chills stage & some fatigue.
For me personally that seems to kick in around 8-12 hours after the shot so I try to get it early in the day, head to work/head home, then with any luck I sleep through most of the side effects & feel more or less okay the next day.
That's what I should have done. Instead, I got it late in the day, slept, and woke up just in time for the side-effects to start ramping up. :(
Happened to me, got worse each booster. The initial shot had me feeling kinda drained for a day or two, second made me feel like I had a cold, third made me feel like I had the flu really bad. I haven’t gotten the most recent one yet because of how bad the last one was. All were Moderna.
Might be time to try the Pfizer one.
Moderna does this to me every time. Usually I take a long nap and then feel better.
This was my experience with the initial rounds, but I was very happy to not get COVID. My employer gave me time off for recovery just from the vaccine which was great so I just didn't do anything for a day.
I'm still waiting for my new shot now. Seems like all the pharmacies are backed up by a week or more, but I should be getting another Moderna next week.
I haven't had the new vaccine yet, but after evading the old strain and catching the new one before vaccines were available, I can say... the original Moderna vaccine kicked my ass about equally as hard as covid's first day did.
(The cough is by far the worst part, but for me that didn't start until later, so the covid fever day felt completely identical to the post-vaccine day.)
A coworker of mine did exactly as you. He never described his symptoms and exactly how bad they were, but he stated that overall Moderna was the worst one, but far better than covid itself.
I've been lucky not to catch COVID at all so far. I've got extended family who have, and it's been an object lesson in why vaccinating is so important. With vaccines, I feel crummy for a day or two. My father-in-law is on year three of feeling crummy due to long COVID, and my brother-in-law is on year two.
I got off pretty lucky.
I've gotten Moderna for all my COVID vaccines so far. The only one to kick my ass was the second one of the initial shots. That one gave me a fever the next day, but I was able to call off work so it was okay. I was okay the day after, but sadly I had to go back to work.
Maybe you actually caught something while getting your vaccine
Happened to me. After my 2nd booster I felt really crappy for 3-4 days. Got tested at a clinic and was positive for the flu.
Don't think so. Just slept off the worst of it and I'm feeling a lot better this morning.
That was pretty much me a few days ago. I ate food that was a little hot, and I could feel it going through my insides for a little while, and it was painful. My fever was close to 103.
Is there a chance you just happen to have gotten sick coincidentally around the same time that you got the vaccine?
Unlikely. I mask up everywhere (especially with these new strains running rampant). Plus, I just woke up and am feeling a hell of a lot better.
I've always gotten Moderna and just got my third (or fourth...I lost count) booster last week. This one was the first to barely bother me. I just got a little tired. The previous ones though were full beasts that knocked me out for 24 to 36 hours.
EDIT: From what I've read, Moderna's latest booster is supposed to be effective against the two strains rampaging about this year. Pfizer can only confirm efficacy against one.
Pfizer's previous version was original+b.1, and their current is original+b4+b5.
Source: my left arm.
Yes, my first vaccine was Pfizer and second was Moderna, which caused heart issues. I went to a heart specialist and was diagnosed with pericarditis from the vaccine. It took awhile for symptoms to improve (pain, shortness of breath etc.). I feel lucky though.
An unusual amount of people had severe symptoms in our area after the Moderna vaccine. Healthy people in their 30s for the most part. Our electrician had a heart attack and a few people died. Needless to say I didn’t go for a third. We know a guy who technically died from it, but he was revived - they got his heart going.
This was the reason I didn't get vaccinated. I already have myocarditis, and someone I know had the same and his condition was made noticeably worse after.
I'd rather take my chances with Covid.
I came to the same conclusion, albeit a bit too late. I have all my regular immunizations and am no skeptic, but this one I now lump in the same category as the regular flu vaccine. Thanks but I’ll pass, but I understand others may choose for various valid reasons. This issue brings out the kooks though.
Some people have been driven insane by Covid, and if you even mention the fact you didn't get the vaccine for perfectly sound health reasons, you're labelled as an anti-vaxx loon.
Nobody understands nuance anymore. In any kind of debate.
Good thing you're not in charge of anything..
Yes!!! It's a great vaccine, I'll keep supporting our great pharmaceutical companies and happily inject myself with anything they produce. They have a great track record. Fuck those antivaxxers, they don't know what's good for them.
Making yourself more ill with side effects from the vaccine than you would likely get if you caught Covid.
"I'd rather have it than Covid though". Why? 🤷
Because I'm definitely not more ill than I would be from COVID-19, and I'm unlikely to accidentally kill anyone by spreading a vaccine to them.
How do you know that? I've had Covid twice and it was nothing like the symptoms you're describing there.
None of us know how Covid would affect us. But in 99% (probably more than that) of us, it's no worse than a cold or mild flu. Automatically thinking that you're going to end up in hospital is silly.
You are the reason this is still happening, then.
What part of "other people exist" is unclear? I get vaccinated so I'm unlikely to be a vector for spreading the virus to people who'd die from it due to pre-existing conditions or age.
Do you know who I caught Covid off the first time? My step-dad, who had been vaccinated twice.
It doesn't stop you spreading it Covid, but keep pretending it does if it makes you feel better.
You know what? You're right, getting vaccinated doesn't make it impossible to catch and spread a disease. What it does is reduce the possibility, and reduce the severity and duration if you do catch it. What you're doing is applying your personal experience - an anecdote - to everyone.
No vaccine ever has been 100% effective. Not even the smallpox vaccine. 100% effectiveness isn't possible. You happened to catch it from a vaccinated person. It happens. Doesn't mean being vaccinated didn't reduce the severity of your step-father's illness or the duration of his contagiousness. It almost certainly did both.
People I know who have been vaccinated and then caught Covid have had it worse than me and are in the same age group.
They all say "glad I got vaccinated, otherwise it would have been worse". Based on what, exactly? Hope?
Based on the science, not on anecdotes.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/24/health/covid-antibody-response-vaccines/index.html
Stop mistaking your personal experience for everyone's personal experience.
It's a common mistake to believe that our personal experiences are typical. It even has a name, the Availability Heuristic. Some use the term anecdote.
But when making decisions about things like whether to vaccinate or not vaccinate, it's important to look at probabilities. And to do that we have to look at what happens to large groups of people. Thankfully, this has been done. Various studies have been conducted which looked at large groups of people, literally millions in some cases and their conclusions have remained consistent.
They are that the vaccine has some risks, but they generally are mild. But more importantly, the risks of the vaccine are lower than the risks from getting Covid.
That doesn't mean that everyone who gets vaccinated won't have a side effect, or that everyone who isn't vaccinated will suffer be injured by Covid, but it does mean that, on average, you are far better to be vaccinated than unvaccinated.
I can link to some of the studies if you like.
If you're in an at-risk group, yes. But you don't need to be vaccinated if you're under-60 and healthy, because the vaccines only protect you, not anyone else as you can still pass it on. So the whole period with vaccine passports and other nonsense was stupid, harmed the cause of getting people vaccinated and led to increased scepticism of vaccines in general.
What you seem to be saying here is that if you are under 60 vaccines aren't worth the risk to you personally, and that they don't stop transmission thereby failing to remove a risk to others over 60. Tell me if I got that wrong.
Assuming that I didn't, let's unpick that:
It is correct that the risks of Covid to younger people are less than older people, but they are not zero. Your statement implies that it is only older people who are at risk, which is not correct. Vaccines still reduce the risk for younger people too:
"Among hospitalized adolescent patients, two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine were highly effective against Covid-19–related hospitalization and ICU admission or the receipt of life support." https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2117995
In fact, while younger people are less likely to suffer severe adverse symptoms from Covid, vaccination actually has a GREATER protective effect for young people against potential severe consequences . i.e. the consequences are mitigated more for young people than older people.
"We found a substantial effect of age on the results. Many HRs in younger individuals (<60 years-old) were in general lower (i.e. favouring vaccination even more) for outcomes significantly associated with vaccination" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159122001118
The r value for vaccinated people is lower than for unvaccinated people. That is, a vaccinated person with Covid will expose less people to Covid than an unvaccinated person will, which is safer for everyone else.
So in conclusion, vaccination does reduce the risks of Covid injury in people under 60 (as well as those over 60), and does reduce the rate of transmission.
When it comes to complex issues like this, the only sources of information that should be considered can best be found on Google Scholar.
Easy to get COVID twice when you take no precautions.
You are the problem.
Twice in three years is "not taking precautions"? 😂
Since you put so much stock in personal anecdotes, I've had it zero times in three years, so clearly my precautions are superior to yours, and there is zero possibility that I've gotten lucky in any way.
People still get vaccinated? Just curious, but haven't seen or heard about covid in a while ...
Cases are up everywhere, more so than the normal end of summer way. The cases are less deadly, but they can still cause long covid, even without symptoms
Ah yes "Long Covid", or "post-viral syndrome" as we used to call it. The chances of it happening are very slim and could happen with any cold or flu virus you catch, but let's pretend it's something new.
And ignore that it's massively overblown, and led by people who think having a headache one day, two months after having Covid is evidence that they've got "Long Covid".
https://news.sky.com/story/amp/long-covid-risks-are-distorted-by-flawed-research-study-finds-12969777
As though previous failures of the health system are a reason to continue to fail people.
I knew my question would summon the anti-vaccine idiot-brigade.
I'm not anti, I've had 3 doses.They sure aren't making it easy to get this one. I've had an appointment canceled at Safeway, and been to Walmart twice. First time told come back next week just walk in, and then turned away and told to make an appointment online when I did. Seriously just considering saying fuck it. It shouldn't be this fucking difficult.
Don't give up! The reason that's happening is that demand for the new doses is far outstripping predictions, so they're running out. That's going to taper off.
Managed to get phizer and the flu vax last Friday. My last 3 doses were Moderna with no major side effects, and this most recent phizer was the same. Arm ache, and maybe slight chills for a night. Thanks for encouraging me to try again. Think I was just trying to get them done too soon. Still didn't have a choice, phizer was all they had. I don't think there's much difference though, and either is probably better than none.
Yep, definitely. Despite Moderna kicking my butt for a day or two, I'm very glad I got it. Much rather not be part of the problem.
Who said anything about being anti vaccine? How about you fuck off if you ain't gonna answer?
It's a really stupid question. Of course people still vaccinate. There are two new strains going around that are rapidly increasing hospitalizations.
Where I am from, no there hasn't been any covid talk in a few months ...
So? Just because no one you know is talking about it doesn't mean it isn't happening. I'd bet if you called the local hospital and them if there's been an uptick in COVID-19 cases, they'd wonder what rock you've been living under.
For the record, the strain with the largest circulation right now is EG.5, which is a descendant of Omicron (which should give you an idea of how infectious it is).
I got COVID just a month ago.
Yep, it's still a thing, we had two cases at our 100-ish people company recently.
My husband just got over COVID. Two colleagues at work, and their families, also recently had COVID. My kids' have a number of cases at both of their schools.