Reaction to vaccination arriving 10 days late?

The Quarantine Zone
1

Hubby and I got vaccinated on the sixth of March (Pfizer.) We both had a very small amount of soreness in that arm that went away in less than a day, and no other effects. Well, as far as I could tell: at our ages, it’s ‘normal’ for us to have various things ache or twinge at various times, seemingly at random.

So today, ten days later, hubby’s arm is suddenly VERY sore, and there’s a red swelling where the injection went in, and the muscle itself seems to have a firm lump under the skin there. Has anyone heard of other people getting such a delayed reaction?

Also, we’re scheduled to get the second shot three weeks after the first, which is just 11 days from now. Is this a good idea? Or should we wait an extra week or two for the first shot to have finished doing it’s thing before hitting his system with another dose?

2

I would not make any decisions based on advice from an internet message board. I would call my doctor.

It could be a coincidence; it could be an infection that needs antibiotics, and not related to the vaccine per se, but the way it was given, and very bad luck-- but something that should be reported to the facility where the vaccine was given. Your doctor may advise your husband to get the second shot in the other arm.

If you do not have a personal doctor, there must be a clinic you can go to.

3

Yeah, we’ll call a doctor. (We’re old people, we have PLENTY of doctors.) I was mostly wondering if this was a known pattern of reaction to the injection.

BTW, the swelling is way down this morning, and the pain. So probably not an infection, I’d think.

4

Good. Your husband may have an oddly placed lymph node that got nicked, or it could have been an allergy to the plastic in the syringe, that was actually there since the shot, and only noticeable 10 days later. Really, a doctor has to look at it. 6 SD posters will give you 12 different possibilities.

And it could still be unrelated. I had a painful swelling in my arm once, that seemed unexplainable, until it was followed two days later by a toothache, and I realized I had lost an old filling, and now had new decay in the place it had been-- a huge hole, FWIW. I needed three days of antibiotics before a dentist would think of treating it, and he wanted to do a root canal at first. After several x-rays, he agreed to just replace the filling, but I had to sign a waiver that I might still need a root canal.

It’s been 13 years, and the filling is holding up fine. Boy, did that dentist, who filled it on a weekend, and was not my regular dentist, get a glowing Yelp review.

Anyway, the dentist confirmed that yes, lymph nodes can swell painfully in reaction to a cavity, particularly one in need of antibiotics.

Not relevant to your husband, obviously, but just another example of how lymph nodes in your arm can do all sorts of things: I had very painful left-side mastitis when my son was about 5 months old. Second day of it (and at the doctor), and a swollen, red ring around my upper arm on the left side. Massive PAIN in the left breast, but nothing obvious on visual inspection.

Left was his favorite side, too. 24 hrs worth of codeine, and an series of antibiotics, and I was fine. Doctor advised additionally OTC NSAIDS for swelling.

Sorry for going on, but trying to show that is could be such a great variety of thing, you need to see a doctor.

5

My mother (she’s in her 80’s) had the almost the exact same thing. 10 days after the first shot, her arm was suddenly sore and red again, and she also had some nausea and fatigue. She called her doctor who said that this was common and he had been hearing it fairly frequently, always around 10-12 days after the vaccination. He recommended tylenol and rest and it resolved in a day or two on its own.

So I would still agree with others that you absolutely should consult your own doctor, but I’ll add the extra anecdata anyway.

6

There’s a known reaction about 8 days or so after the Moderna shot (an occasional side effect; not everybody gets it, but enough do that it’s been noticed.)

I don’t know if this is a recognized side effect of the Pfizer shot.

I agree, call your doctor, both in case it’s something else and because even if it is a delayed reaction of that type it should be reported to let them know this is happening also to people who got Pfizer.

7

Vaccines do some weird stuff. I got a tetanus shot before my first son was born, since it had been some long and indefinite time since my previous tetanus booster.

The spot where the injection was given gradually swelled and got red over the course of about a week and a half, until nearly my entire deltoid muscle area was red and swollen, and this lasted for about a month after I got the shot.

Went to the dr. and he was poked at it a bit and said something like “Huh. Can’t say I’ve seen that happen before. Come back in a couple weeks if it doesn’t go away.” And like truly weird clockwork, it faded and went away over the next few days.