We ultimately have to contact the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the exact composition, says De Boer. “All information about the product and what exactly is in it, once a vaccine has been approved, is on their website. The package leaflet can also be found on the Medicines Information Bank from that moment on.”
2. Is anything known about side effects?
“For the time being the side effects seem to be very bad,” says Van Egmond. “What we often see is that people get muscle pain. They can also get a red spot, or feel unwell or get a headache after the vaccination. That is not serious, it may indicate that the immune system is being activated. so you feel a bit flu, but that’s over after a day. No serious side effects have been reported so far. “
According to Huckriede, the side effects of the corona vaccine are probably ‘slightly stronger than with the flu shot’. “You should expect some pain at the site of the vaccination and a flu-like feeling (fatigue, muscle pain, possibly increase) for 1 to 2 days. These are signs that the immune system is working well after the vaccination, so in principle positive. In rare cases (about 2 to 4 percent of vaccinations), pain and / or a feeling of flu may be somewhat more intense, but in all cases these side effects disappeared within a few days.
3. What do we know about the long-term side effects?
“At this point, we can’t say anything about long-term side effects,” says Huckriede. “After all, the first vaccinations in test subjects only started about 4 months ago. No serious side effects occurred during this period. RNA vaccines have not yet been widely used and therefore nothing is known about long-term consequences. For other vaccines however, they are extremely rare. “
Van Egmond agrees: “There are no guarantees, but if vaccines have side effects, it is usually in the short term. Vaccines are not known to cause serious side effects in the long term.”
4. Has the vaccine also been tested on the elderly or people with poor health?
Yes, the vaccines are also being tested on the elderly and people in poor health, says Huckriede. “In the elderly, the direct side effects were generally less than in the young. This may be due to the fact that the immune system of the elderly reacts somewhat weaker. The protective effect, as far as we now know, was just as good in the elderly as in young people. “
5. Can you still infect someone if you have been vaccinated yourself?
“We don’t know yet,” says Van Egmond. “But that is certainly a very important question that needs to be investigated. Until we have the answer to this question, it is wise to keep a distance of five feet from others, even if you have already been vaccinated.”
6. Will you know which vaccine you will receive? For example, can you choose Modern, Pfizer or another manufacturer?
Van Egmond: “I don’t think so, at the moment we can be happy with everything we get. I also don’t think it matters, both vaccines are made in almost the same way. The biggest difference is how the vaccine is stored. Must be: Moderna can be kept in the fridge or freezer, and Pfizer must be kept at minus 80 degrees, so that is more complicated.
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