Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and the side effects

[LeSquigh]

Morning all

Many of my colleagues have now received the first dose of the Oxford vaccine and every single one of them has reported side effects, quite a large number have had to take time off work and been bedridden. Are we in the minority or is this true for all that have it? Not really looking forward to my turn!

There is nothing in the newspapers that would even remotely mention any meaningful information
Utter nonsense. The newspapers are full of relevant information. Here’s a very small selection:

www.mirror.co.uk/science/covid-vaccine-what-side-effects-23131742
www.thesun.co.uk/news/13381884/covid-vaccine-side-effects-pfizer-oxford/
www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1385103/Can-I-go-back-to-normal-after-Covid-vaccine-evg
www.independent.co.uk/news/health/how-safe-covid-vaccine-pfizer-b1765035.html

[quote Iwonder08]@sparklingbrook - it is not the point. Yes, some information is available on gov website, but majority of people who are covered by this vaccine now(over 75) are not going to dig this out. They watch BBC news, where there are only happy people who finally got the vaccine, or crying people who regret of someone in the family dying before they got the vaccine. We don't have any information on the news, just personal stories and stats of people died of covid[/quote]
My parents are 80. When they got called my Dad did some research as to what to expect. Not all over 75s get all their information from the telly.
Turned out they had no side effects at all thankfully.

When I get mine in many month's time I'll see what the latest is on whichever one I get.

@tarapinn

Well I had the Oxford vaccine yesterday and feel like shit. In our hospital we were told to have it when you can have a few days off afterwards. This is because since they started giving them, there was too much staff sickness the next day. I plan to chill in bed today because I can do so easily and hopefully I'll be fine tmrw.

I would much rather have this for a day or two than covid itself.

Op I don't think you're scaremongering and some of these replies seem so.... angry 🤷‍♀️

Yes they really do seem angry. Anger is sometimes a displacement emotion for fear so I assume some of them are frightened of the vaccine not working or of antivaxxers pouncing on the op's post as confirmation of their view.

Neither of these worries justifies the calls of ' scarmongering' or ' they are all malingerers' .

I had the Swine flu jab years ago because I was pregnant at the time. I had terrible flu like symptoms for 24 hours it happens.

I’m quite prepared to believe there are side effects - it wouldn’t put me off. I’m just interested to know which non medically trained emergency service is vaccinating teams of people.

I don't see any 'anger', just a discussion. Calling people angry is just a way of having a dig.

I'm glad you made this post op. Forewarned is forearmed. Having not had an adverse reaction to any previous vaccinations it's always useful to be reminded that I may not be fit for work the following day etc., to not be alarmed if I do suffer symptoms and to get a covid test if indicated.

@tarapinn

Well I had the Oxford vaccine yesterday and feel like shit. In our hospital we were told to have it when you can have a few days off afterwards. This is because since they started giving them, there was too much staff sickness the next day. I plan to chill in bed today because I can do so easily and hopefully I'll be fine tmrw.

I would much rather have this for a day or two than covid itself.

Op I don't think you're scaremongering and some of these replies seem so.... angry 🤷‍♀️

My hospital were the same, we were asked to book in on a run of days off preferably but didn’t work out that way for a lot as our shifts were already out

We vaccinated about 30 people in my workplace last week. 3 needed to be off work due to side effects the next day. 3 said they felt a bit off and washed out the next day. Others reported a headache, an arm ache, a 'funny feeling for a while'. All were fine within 36 hours.
Interestingly, we found whilst sharing experiences that the only ones who experienced no side effects whatsoever were those of us who take a Vitamin D supplement.
None of us regret having the vaccine, not even the lady who cried in fear as she had it but was determined to go through with it.

To add to the anec-data I had the AZ vaccine yesterday and feel fine. Am an NHS Dr but also have CFS/ME and a separate autoimmune condition.

But to the OP and others I'd say this:
If you want to do something to genuinely help follow up the side effects during the mass rollout, download the 'Zoe' app - they are doing 7 day follow ups of major symptoms and this will produce some proper, admittedly with reporting bias, data.

Also, if you're getting it, do like you would with a baby and take paracetamol the day of, the night of, and the morning after.

If you have abnormal reactions, which I would suggest being unable to get out of bed at all certainly is, then report via the yellow card system.

And to answer a PP if you are febrile on the morning after (temp above 37.8) you need a Covid test and to stay home with your household exactly as if you hadn't had the vaccine.

@Sparklingbrook

I would imagine employers would have mixed reactions to people ringing in sick because of the side effects of a vaccine.

They really shouldn't!

@Divebar

I’m interested to know what emergency service you are OP because I’m police and have heard nothing about being vaccinated ahead of the standard schedule. ( other than a few police officers are driving for the ambulance service). That leaves the fire service which doesn’t make any sense.

See my posts.

In my area social workers, police and fire service workers are all receiving the vaccine currently.

The fire service have been getting it as they have been helping run the vaccine clinics. The person taking names and walking people from the outside queue into the clinic yesterday was wearing a fire service uniform.

The GP surgeries locally have mostly rattled through their over 80s patients and some are well into the over 75s. I've been told anecdotally that some surgeries using the Pfizer vaccine are operating an informal list of carers/ teachers etc that can come in at short notice to use up spare doses.

The clinic I was at yesterday was vaccinating someone every 60 - 90 seconds. It was amazing to watch, so well organised.

It's generally a very well run Clinical Commissioning Group with some really strong personalities at the head of it. The GP surgeries across the area generally all work together very well. It's an area where there's currently a lot of people in a position to volunteer to run clinics and there's been a high take up of volunteering roles, with certain local large employers also offering resources to the NHS to help things run such as car parking, barriers, gazebos if it's raining etc.

There's a huge community effort and it's really wonderful to see.

Do younger people get more / worse side effects?

With the Pfizer, not a single one of all my parents' friends or my friends' parents - all 80+ - have had any kind of adverse reaction. My dad said that if he pressed the injection site he could feel it, but not even a sore arm among them with the exception of one who described the same 'warm' arm she gets from every injection.

But the three younger people (so not a huge or representative sample, I know!) I know who have had it all complained of a really sore arm, tiredness and flu like symptoms bad enough for one to take to bed for a day and a day of NHS work.

A day off

I had the other vaccine , the Pfizer one. Amongst the teams I know who have been vaccinated, there have been a range of after effects , sore arm seems the most common, tiredness, nausea, feeling fluey. All the symptoms resolved within 48 hrs. All of these are expected symptoms and not what I would personally class as severe. A few people had to have a day off and a duvet day. I planned mine so I had a day off after just in case, fortunately just had a sore arm and felt a bit tired.

I don't really understand why you are suprised or alarmed at the after effects your colleagues are reporting, when they have experienced the exact things people have been told to potentially expect ?

Thank you for posting OP, it's useful to know! Of course it hasn't put me off the vaccine at all - forewarned is forearmed and all that.

Thank you OP. It's good to be able to prepare, whether in terms of practicalities or mentally. I tend to read the literature on side effects of medication but not normally experience them so would probably be worried if I get them, despite reading the literature.
Now, I won't be so surprised if I do have them when it is my turn for the Covid vaccine. I am also a carer so can make preparations in case the person I care for suffers the side effects. Thanks again.

@cakegoblin

OP sounds that this is a fake news thread so I’m going to report

Censorship will only push those with genuine concerns further away. Why can't people see this?

I know 6 people who had AZ. 4 younger HC workers and 2 over 80s. Over 80s are ill generally so didn't notice additional side effects. 1 younger person had no side-effects. 3 had aches the next day where they often feel aches - but it was a stronger ache. Paracetamol helped. Lasted one day.
6 out of 6 good results for the people I know!

@Ostryga

I know 40 people that have had it - including 36 CEV and none had any more side effects than a sore arm for a day or so

Why can't people understand that some will suffer side effects and some won't?

@Sparklingbrook

I would imagine employers would have mixed reactions to people ringing in sick because of the side effects of a vaccine

What do you mean? So they should go to work even if they are feeling very poorly?

@hatgirl

Hi. Thanks for responding to my post. It’s interesting to hear. I’m in the Met and have only heard of the 75 officers working for the ambulance service being vaccinated. (Anyone working in a patient facing health setting should get it clearly) . The commissioner wrote an article in the Times on the 12th in which she pressed the government to consider vaccinating police ahead of the “ schedule” because of the nature of the work we do. No mention that other police areas were doing this which I find odd.

[quote trulydelicious]@Ostryga

I know 40 people that have had it - including 36 CEV and none had any more side effects than a sore arm for a day or so

Why can't people understand that some will suffer side effects and some won't?[/quote]
Why can’t people understand that others are allowed to give their experiences without being jumped on

I had the Oxford AZ vaccine yesterday. I've barely slept all night. High temp, chills, sweats, muscle aches and pains and headache. Really unpleasant. A few other nurses in my team have been the same, one took the next day off work.

I understood these to be normal side effects though. I'm still so glad I had the vaccine.

@MiddlesexGirl yes they shouldn't but bearing in mind the people working that have the vaccine are key workers a lot of those places will be struggling staff wise as it is.

I expect a lot of employees would struggle in anyway though.