Short-term side effects after COVID-19 vaccination associated with greater antibody response

Short-term side effects after COVID-19 vaccination associated with greater antibody response

Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-2956  

URL goes live when the embargo lifts     

A study of newly vaccinated adults found that short-term side effects after vaccination were associated with greater long-lasting neutralizing antibody (nAB) responses. The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco conducted a prospective cohort study of 363 persons who had not been vaccinated against or exposed to SARS-CoV-2, who then received 2 doses of either BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273. The authors found that the presence of chills, tiredness, feeling unwell, and headache after the second dose were each associated with 1.4- to 1.6-fold higher nAB at 1 and 6 months after vaccination. They also found that each 1-degree Celsius increase in skin temperature after dose 2 was associated with 1.8-fold higher nAB 1 month later and 3.1-fold higher nAB 6 months later. The authors say that their findings may be relevant in addressing negative attitudes toward vaccine side effects, which are a barrier to vaccine uptake.

Media contacts: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Angela Collom at [email protected]. To speak with any of the corresponding authors, please contact Suzanne Leigh at [email protected].