Question for those who work in a vaccination centre (about post vaccine reactions)

[CovidCurious]

Is it true more people than expected are collapsing after their jabs, and that more crash team provision than would normally be expected when giving other types of jabs has had to be provided to deal with those having bad reactions shortly after their Covid jabs?

I have a friend who works in a vaccination centre, and this is what he told me, but since he is a vaccine sceptic I thought I would ask here. He reckons between 1% and 2% of people are having bad reactions at the centre during the 15 minutes they are asked to wait for observation.

I have been vaccinating since March. The only thing I've seen is one person faint but he was terrified of having his jab.
Anti Vax nonsense, I'm afraid.

I get crash calls in a hospital. Never been called to the hospital vaccine hub.

Baffled as to why a vaccine sceptic would be working in a vaccine centre tbh.

@XenoBitch

Baffled as to why a vaccine sceptic would be working in a vaccine centre tbh.

So that he can spread lies like this with perceived authority.

I've vaccinated hundreds of people without a single faint, let alone needing the crash team.

Friend of mine who is working as a vaccinator says all those who faint are young men who haven’t had breakfast

Out of everyone I know that's been for the vaccine and talked about it, I only know a colleague who mentioned someone fainted as he said he was too hot (apparently he had a coat on inside and overheated)
I've had 2 x AZ and 1 Pfizer at a busy vaccine hub and seen nothing adverse

I’ve been vaccinating since January and haven’t seen a single collapse.

Now I think about it, not even a fainter. Had a few highly anxious people but no actual collapses or faints.

I’ve seen/heard about a few post vaccine sore arms and headaches. Normal side effects.

Been nursing 30 years and I’ve never seen anaphylaxis to a vaccine, for the record. I would suggest your “friend” is talking out of his arse.

Back in the summer, when they started vaccinating people under 30, we had lots of girls fainting. You could see them coming: often supported by a parent. One afternoon we had four faint at our centre. Occasionally there was a very nervous young man, but it was the girls who actually fainted. Each session there'd be at least one, for about a month to six weeks.

We are all kind and supportive, but it was quite extraordinary. A GP trainee told me she thought the HPV vaccination scheme in schools had seeded the 'phenomenon'.

I wouldn't be suprised if there was a higher rate of fainting and vasovagal responses to vaccination given the huge amount of publicity surrounding them.

Nothing to do with the active ingredients of the vaccine, all to do with the psychological impact of fearmongering.

No.
We get the occasional person who feints with any vaccination, and I find it much less with Covid as many people were used to having flu jabs anyway.
Yes, we take an AED into school sessions, but we don’t take one to non Covid school sessions. Thank god we’ve never needed to use it.

I've seen a fair few people faint but it's because they've been anxious/not eaten rather than because they've had a reaction and they've all made a full recovery very quickly. I've not seen a single reaction but we monitor everyone carefully afterwards just in case. The vast, vast majority of the thousands that have come through the centres where I work have been absolutely fine.

I had my booster vaccine yesterday. I didn't see anyone faint and the vaccine centre was very busy. I had a sore arm this morning, took 2 paracetamol and have been fine ever since.

Worked in a vaccine only seen 1 faint in a adult. But children are fainting more just because of their age and their heart rates. I've seen maybe between 5-10 faints. A doctor at the centre said is because children's heart rates can be slower than adults and when given the vaccine it slows the heart rate down more.

Far more likely to be a vasovagal reaction than a reaction to the vaccine.

I fainted after my second Pfizer jab in a vaccine centre. I am mid 40s. I wasn’t anxious - it was a reaction to vaccine. The first thing on call doctor asked me was if I had eaten and I had had a big breakfast. She said she has 1-2 a day who faint or get very light headed. I tend to have low blood pressure and it sent my blood pressure down and then heart racing rapidly in contrast which made me faint. Felt similar to when I had an anaesthetic for a c section.
I am a bit concerned about my teen having a similar reaction now that you have mentioned it. I was fine lying down for 1 hour there, eating a biscuit and drinking water. Might tell my teen to do the same.

Why do people faint if they haven’t eaten beforehand?

My DS (18) fainted after his first moderna jab. He had eaten breakfast, and is the most laid-back person you could meet - not remotely anxious about having the jab. The staff in the vaccine centre said he was the first fainter of that day, and that most days there are 5 or 6, mostly young men. He was fine when he had his second jab though.

And why does it slow the heart rate?

Forgot to say I only weigh just over 8 stone and on call GP said the dose is the same for all so I do wonder whether for lighter people with low blood pressure this may impact, especially young girls.

That’s interesting that people who haven’t eaten have felt faint.

My ds felt faint after his first vaccination and we couldn’t understand why as he wasn’t anxious.

However, he was going to McDonald’s for breakfast on way home so maybe it was because he hadn’t eaten!

@Cookerhood

I have been vaccinating since March. The only thing I've seen is one person faint but he was terrified of having his jab. Anti Vax nonsense, I'm afraid.

Yeah, pretty much same here. Been doing a few shifts a week since January. We had quite a few fainters when we were doing the 18/19 year olds. Mostly young men, generally hadn't eaten or hungover, or those really scared of needles and managed to hold it together only to faint afterwards. Think we've had one actual reaction to the vaccination, who had to be taken off in an ambulance (they were fine in the end), but we've given over 50,000 vaccines. A few people had a bit of an urticaria rash and were kept longer for observation, but not full blown anaphylaxis.

Your friend is scaremongering or their centre has been very unlucky!

I have been volunteering at a vaccine centre since Feb and have seen two people taken to the recovery area as they felt unwell. Both times this was in the summer and it was hot and stuffy and the centre is basically a tin shed. Water and biscuits are now offered as standard.

@Heruka

And why does it slow the heart rate?

It's nothing to do with the vaccine itself.

Vasovagal syncope is when your nervous system causes your blood pressure to drop and heart rate to slow down. It's the most common cause of fainting.

Medical procedures like injections, or even hearing/thinking about things like this, along with emotional situations can induce a vasovagal response. It's a physiological response caused by stress.

@HelloDulling

Why do people faint if they haven’t eaten beforehand?

low blood glucose & lower blood pressure (which will be caused by not enough fluid/electrolytes) are both risk factors for fainting

It's not really a reaction to the contents of the vaccine. It's the same reaction as when people faint when having blood taken. It's called a vasovagal reaction - the blood pressure fall, heart rate slows, and you fall over.
"The vagal response is a series of unpleasant symptoms that occur when the vagus nerve is stimulated. Often, this response is triggered by certain things like stress, pain, and fear. Symptoms of the vagal response include dizziness, nausea, ringing ears, and sweating. In some cases, it can make you pass out."