With Israel's coronavirus vaccination campaign still in play, the Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that it found the side effects of the third vaccine dose were mostly mild and transient.
The study shows the frequency and extent of side effects experienced within 21 to 30 days of receiving the shot amongst Israelis age 18 and up. The survey, supported by the Helsinki Committee of the Health Ministry, approved experimentation of 2,049 people, amongst them 51% men and 49% women, split into 3 age categories — 18–39, 40–59, 60+.
The study found that reports of side effects are more frequent among young persons. Most of the reports by 18-year-olds included minor side effects that appeared within 1-3 days of the vaccine; These include weakness, fatigue, headaches, muscle soreness, fever, lightheadedness, nausea, and in more rare cases — chest pains, digestion problems, swelling of lymph glands, or coughing.
Neurological side effects and allergies were much less frequent and reported in only 4% of the cases. Those who did report these side effects experienced them after a longer period of time, and those who sought medical attention discovered that these side effects weren't harsher than those they experienced after the previous doses.
These findings are similar to those published in the Vaccines peer-reviewed journal by the University of Haifa, which collected side effect data after each dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
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Health worker holds a vial of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine and a syringe against an Israeli flag
(Photo: AP)
Researchers surveyed several databases to learn about the difference between men's and women's side effects in Israel, including Health Ministry reports regarding side effects amongst people ages 16 and up between December 2019 and June 2021; surveys given to 923 participants above the age of 30 in June 2021; and two additional surveys given to 560 participants in their workplaces ranging from ages 20–65 in September 2021.
The study found that reports of side effects following all three doses were 1.9 times more frequent amongst women than men. The most notable side effects were reported after the second dose. The side effects were mild and included soreness in the injection area, fever, headache, weakness, and numbness in the hand.
An analysis of the results found that women who experienced arm pain after vaccination reported seven times more such instances than their male counterparts after the first dose, 4.2 times more after the second dose, and 4.1 times more after the third.
Feeling of weakness after the first dose was 30 times more prevalent in women than men, 2.6 times following the second dose, and 1.6 times following the third.
Women reported nine times more instances of headache after the first dose than, 3.2 after the second, and 2.45 after the third.
"It's unclear what the mechanism is, but perhaps it's related to the differences in immune systems or attention to side effects between the genders. One explanation says that women's immune system reacts to external stimuli more than men's," said Prof. Manfred Green, the main author of the study.