# Dreading the second dose **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 11, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817 "2021-04-11T20:15:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/21 "2021-04-12T06:14:33Z")
Only a sore arm for 2 days over here after the second Moderna shot. Get your shot, there are very little chances that you will get any severe reaction. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/22 "2021-04-12T12:09:41Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > FWIW, and to anybody who may be curious, I received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine a few days ago. As you may or may not know, it’s a vaccine administered in just a single shot. I got the J&J shot yesterday at 11 am. 21 hours later, not a single side effect noticed other than very mild soreness in the shoulder where I got the shot. I actually wonder if that’s not good. I’ve heard that the side effects are actually a good thing, because it’s a sign the body is adjusting its immune system. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/23 "2021-04-12T13:59:09Z")
If I had to guess, it is all probably just your immune system attacking the proteins delivered by the first dose, though it is quite likely you coincidentally picked up another infection. If you have not seen it, the video in the OP describes pretty well what’s happening within the body. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/24 "2021-04-12T14:45:11Z")
> [@bump](#): > > What I’m curious to find out is whether a person’s reaction to the vaccine is indicative of how sick you’d have got with COVID or not. From what I understand, probably not – women and younger people have a [higher rate of side effects from the vaccine](https://www.today.com/health/covid-vaccine-side-effects-women-young-people-report-more-t212334), but are at lower risk of severe illness from COVID itself. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/25 "2021-04-12T14:53:30Z")
I figured that was the case, and I’d also imagine that in the absence of knowing EXACTLY how the immune system interacts with COVID, there’s no way of correlating the two anyway. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/26 "2021-04-12T15:06:30Z")
Also people who recovered from covid. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/27 "2021-04-12T15:13:01Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > He is 78 yo and is diabetic but is very well controlled on insulin. Given his age and underlying condition, getting the virus itself might have very well killed him so, as bad as his reaction was, he may very well have gotten the much better part of the deal. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/28 "2021-04-12T17:02:43Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > If I had to guess, it is all probably just your immune system attacking the proteins delivered by the first dose, though it is quite likely you coincidentally picked up another infection. If you have not seen it, the video in the OP describes pretty well what’s happening within the body. That doctor says the immune response should last about 24 hours since there’s no ongoing infection. I’m on day 9, so it’s not the shot. I must have gotten infected with covid? other? about the time I got the jab. Coincidentally I was sick for about 10 days almost exactly one year ago, same symptoms. I’ll never know what that was about (covid? ¯\_(ツ)\_/¯ ), but it feels like I have it again. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/29 "2021-04-12T18:13:49Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Get your shot, there are very little chances that you will get any severe reaction. Absolutely, I’m getting my second shot!! No complaints here! Gimme that Fauci ouchie please!!! I’m interested for planning purposes. I currently have a hike planned 30 hours after the second dose, our standing weekly hike date, and think I should reschedule that one. I felt a bit of joint ache and quite sleepy after the first Moderna. My stepdaughter felt like worse-than-average flu on her day 2. The warnings are floating around. But no way in hell is any of this a reason to not get the second shot! I’m sure being dead feels like crap too! ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/30 "2021-04-12T19:36:47Z")
My wife got her first shot about a month ago (I’m pretty sure it was Moderna) and still has pain in her arm and difficulty lifting it. She has her second shot scheduled for tomorrow, and I’m wondering if it’s worth taking. From what I read, the first shot itself is about 80% effective, and the second shot boosts that over 90%. Not sure the extra boost is worth what will likely be an even more severe reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/31 "2021-04-12T19:39:12Z")
First Pfizer shot, I had a sore arm for ~3 days, no other symptoms. Second shot, no soreness to speak of but low-grade sick the next day. That could have been because I didn’t sleep well that night (which in turn could have been caused by the shot). My DIL on the other hand had the full range of side effects from her second shot. My son almost took her to ICU twice - day one because of fever/vomiting/diarrhea, day two because she had so much joint/bone pain she couldn’t get out of bed. They didn’t take the hospital trip either day, and by day 3 she was fine. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/32 "2021-04-12T19:48:41Z")
I’m seeing so few people that I picked up a cold in an outdoor cafe last week. One of my concerns about getting vaccinated was standing in line with a bunch of other people who had considerably more human contact, and thus germs, than I did during the previous year. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/33 "2021-04-12T19:50:22Z")
Pfizer. First dose as I said in the other thread, I got about 13 hours of sleep per night for about a week. I took off work the day after the second dose because of the fears that I would get sick, but nothing too bad. Pretty tired the next day, but no sleeping during the day. Just sort of lethargic and wanted to stay home. Hell, it could have been just me being lazy. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/34 "2021-04-12T19:59:23Z")
My immediately family has all had 2 doses of Moderna. My elderly parents had very mild side effects to the second dose, the worst was a pretty sore arm at the injection site for a few days. I was pretty much fine, but about 8-10 hours after the shot I got a pretty intense bout of the chills with mild achiness. I went to bed early and played on my phone for a couple hours and the symptoms passed before I even went to sleep. I felt 100% when I woke up, not even a sore arm. My wife had it the worst. Full on flu-like symptoms, hers started a bit earlier than mine and lasted most of the evening. Nothing really traumatic, just felt like crap. But she too felt close to 100% when she woke up the following day. I’ve read that younger people can suffer worse side effects because their immune systems are much stronger and thus cause more collateral damage when they kick into overdrive. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/35 "2021-04-12T20:13:47Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > I’ve read that younger people can suffer worse side effects because their immune systems are much stronger and thus cause more collateral damage when they kick into overdrive. That would also explain why women tend to have worse reactions than men. In my wife’s case, she is one of the few people in my family to have never gotten covid, and she gets around quite a lot. So it’s possible that she has a very strong immune system, and is therefore subsceptible to a worse reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/36 "2021-04-12T22:19:24Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > From what I read, the first shot itself is about 80% effective, and the second shot boosts that over 90%. Not sure the extra boost is worth what will likely be an even more severe reaction. I think these reports are still pretty incomplete. And what I’ve read indicates that the greater benefit of the second dose is the durability of the immunity. It’s like a booster that locks in the immune response and makes it more permanent. For some reason, the second shot also improves your resistance to the mutations which I don’t fully understand mechanically, but that’s what they are saying. > **[You got your first dose of the Covid vaccine. Now what?](https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/you-got-your-first-dose-covid-vaccine-now-what-n1263171)** > > If your Covid-19 vaccine requires two doses, not much should change after you get your first shot, experts say. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/37 "2021-04-14T18:21:21Z")
Just got my second Pfizer installment and happy about it but also kind of nervous about any side effects. Just got it so nothing yet except my arm is already a bit sore and the injection site itched for a few minutes. On the first installment I was sleepy/tired and had the weirdest sensation in my head for about 3 days that I’ve never heard mentioned. The best way I can describe it is like a bunch of flies flying around in my head. Don’t know if that’s some kind of vertigo or headache like reaction or maybe even just psychosomatic. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/38 "2021-04-14T21:57:36Z")
Planning to get my second jab tomorrow. Not dreading it, I’m excited. I did clear my calendar in case I feel lousy, but I also lined up stuff to do by myself if I feel fine. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/39 "2021-04-14T23:00:46Z")
My second shot is tomorrow. After that I’m going to Disneyland. ---
**Author:** ![Ranch\_Dip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranch_dip/32/5238_2.png) [@Ranch\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranch_Dip)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817/40 "2021-04-14T23:21:24Z")
#TeamPfizer My first shot, I had mild symptoms of headache, diarrhea, fatigue that lasted about 5 days. The second shot was mostly uneventful. I had slight soreness at the injection site for a day, slight fatigue for about three days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreading-the-second-dose/939817.md?page=3)