I had my fourth Covid jab last Saturday and about six hours afterwards I started to feel very ill, headache increasing weakness very thirsty and hungry shaking/shivering all night, high fever, Heart racing/pounding, aching all over especially pain in legs and bad cramp, stomach pains and upset stomach, sickness, couldn’t eat anything for 24 hours plus..
This continued and I’m still feeling very weak and struggling to climb up the stairs haven’t been out for a week. If I get up in the morning and clean my teeth etc then have to lie down again! I also have ME Which is probably making it worse as a relapse but has anybody had this bad reaction as on Sunday I probably felt worse than I’ve ever felt in my life! So far I really wish I did not have the fourth jab and of course I haven’t been able to do an antibody test as yet probably will do in two weeks. I didn’t have any antibodies after third jab. So really only reason I had my fourth jab!
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4th jab for me, Pfizer was the least troublesome. Just a metal taste in my mouth for a few hours. Previously, thumping head for 24 hours at least. We are all different in response to the jabs and my healthy relatives have been waylaid by the first jab but fine the second. One of the mysteries 🤔
Sorry to hear about your horrible reactions to your fourth jab.
I had similar after my second jab - high fever, shivering, nausea etc. Hardly got out of bed - it was a struggle just to go to the loo. It lasted 4 or 5 days and like you, I'd never felt that sick in my life!
After my first and third jabs I just had minor reactions and for the 4th - nothing at all - not even a sore arm. I began to wonder if I'd been injected with plain water that time!
After my 3rd jab I did show some antibodies but not a lot (163u/ml). The 4th jab was only a week ago but I'll do an antibody test in a week or so.
I do hope you feel better soon, and will get some decent antibody response after all you've been through. As devonrr has said, we're all different in our responses - it's very unpredictable.
thanks Paula yes I had quite a bad reaction after my second jab, but not really as bad as this and it took me about eight weeks to recover to what I was before! But I was reasonably okay after the first and third jabs.
Hi there - I too had a very bad reaction to my 4th jab which was Pfizer. in fact I too wrote on here. I had the same symptoms but they come on after about 6 days. I also developed a huge gland in my right axilla. It took me about 4 weeks to recover. Noticeably my WCC absolutely rocketed. I think you did the right things Covid could have been much worse. I think I would leave a longer gap next time but would take my chance again. Good luck with your health. PS there was not way I could of ridden my bike,
I also had a bad reaction to the 4th jab and not the previous three. Started feeling bad in the night and not well in the following morning but over it by the afternoon of the day after the jab
I had my fourth shot (second booster) Monday. I felt tired that night and had a headache and fever and was exhausted all day Tuesday. Wednesday I felt increasingly better. It's Friday, and my body is fine. I had 3 Pfizers and the last booster was Moderna full strength. I had also felt ill in a similar way after my second Pfizer shot.
I'm sorry you have had such a hard reaction and really hope you successfully make antibodies and feel good soon!
Hi I had my fourth jab 10 days ago and am only just getting back to something like normal, I had a large swelling under my arm which was v painful and quite alarming, v tired and achy and horrible headaches. This was my worst reaction by far. I’ve ordered my antibody test which I will take in a week or so. Hope things improve for you soon.
Yes, I felt dreadful for much of the week following as well. But I will still have my 5th one in the spring as we in UK are all to receive that too. But I will clear my diary for the following week.
I had similar reactions to both my 3rd & 4th Jabs (both Pfizer), but without the stomach cramps. An immediate metallic taste and the other symptoms started within 12hr after the injection. But I did also experience significant urine retention for 48hr with last Monday's jab - and consequently put on 1.5 Kg weight in 24h! - which I have since lost. The other symptoms have mostly cleared up after 4 days, however, my arm is still very sore. . After my first 2 jabs (A-Z) I did not develop any detectable antibody response, but my cytokine systems are obviously still fully active!
Hi, I too had a bad reaction to my 4th jab which was Moderna, about 8 hours after the jab, the same symptoms as you and shivering and sweating a temperature of 39.6 and extreme dizziness if I stood up, in fact I didn't dare stand up!
I felt it was getting worse and phoned NHS 111. When I told them I had CLL on "watch and wait" for 8 years and it has been suggested at the last 2 video appointments I start treatment, they sent me to the Derby Royal Hospital with an appointment. At the hospital they checked me over and said that other than the high temperature all the other observations were very good, I was told to go home and rest/sleep for a couple of days, which I did and recovered ok, but it took 4 days . They actually said it was too dangerous for me to be in there as I would likely be exposed to Covid! In fact the toilets weren't marked male and female but Covid and Non Covid!!
The first 2 were AZ and 3rd was Pfizer never had any reaction to those, but this one made me feel very bad.
I would still have any further vaccinations if offered but would go straight home and be prepared for the worse and make sure I had a few days to get over it!
Just think if the jab can do this to us what on earth would catching Covid be like!!
I am 73 years old and still working, my current job is working on the ONS Covid Infection Study!
thanks for that Cliff, The trouble with my situation is that after the second Pfizer jab it took me about eight weeks to recover! I wouldn’t really mind if it was just eight days, I think it’s probably because I also have ME so is affecting my arms and legs walking lifting in fact doing anything. That is really why I would think twice about another vaccine especially if I don’t have any antibodies after this fourth dose ! We will wait and see Best wishes
Hi, got 4th (Pfizer this time as full dose). Got the same response hours later as per 3 prior Moderna's --- headache, nausea, fatigue --- for about 2 days. Can only figure my compromised immune system rev's up to fight VAX. I was mistakingly thinking maybe with. the 4th as Pfizer, the after-effects would be less vs Moderna, but it was equal.
Another way of looking at the shot/jab is that it is revealing the landscape of the body, and not necessarily making one sick.?? I am now in the midst of my fourth, ugh.
Perhaps the way the newer vaccine type (mRNA) stimulates the immune system will prove out to have increased incidence of these type of side effects. With Moderna having twice the active material as the others, as well as increased incidence of side effects, it may turn out that the original estimates of "effective dose" will be adjusted downward. I am not sure of how we can communicate this information back to researchers and the drug companies, except to use the VAERS reporting system in the US, and whatever mechanisms exist in other countries.
Hi, I had same reaction to 4th vaccination. It started with a headache then really bad nausea and extreme fatigue. Glad I am not alone. Hope you feeling better now.
Thanks I am feeling a bit better now a bit stronger but still struggling with brain fog and concentration. I can’t walk as far as I used to and I have to lie down after any major tasks which I have to divide into tiny bits! Hope you are improving
I am so sorry to hear about your reaction. I had an extremely bad reaction to the first jab and haven’t been back since. I didn’t have any CLL symptoms before my first shot. I was undiagnosed. Two days after my first shot, lymph nodes on my neck swelled up and eventually got the size of golf balls. I was soon diagnosed with CLL. The lymph nodes were huge until I started Calquence. Also after the shot, my platelets dropped from 188 to the 70’s. I my case, my doctor believes it is possible that the shot accelerated my CLL. He described it as “taking off”. I am hopeful that someday we will have a vaccine that is not mRNA. I am obviously not anti-vaccine because I got my first shot as soon as it was available. However, the severe way it reacted with my immune system and platelets will keep me from getting any other mRNA based shots. I think there needs to be more informed consent on possible reactions. We can’t let “vaccine hesitancy “ be a reason that we aren’t given all the facts. If you see any TV commercial on any FDA approved drug, they list a dozen or more adverse reactions. Last night I saw a commercial from the health department to give children the new vaccine and didn’t list a single possible reaction. I haven’t heard of any peer reviewed long term studies on the effectiveness of multiple boosters (let me know if there are any). So I would recommend that you LISTEN to your body, consult with a doctor that you trust, and be your own advocate. Everyone is different. Some people’s bodies react OK to the mRNA vaccines and some don’t. We shouldn’t try to cover up the ones that react badly in the name of vaccine hesitancy. It is so very discouraging that medicine has become political.
I am so grateful there are amazing CLL treatments that are saving lives. I wish you well with yours. KVB
With respect to "I haven’t heard of any peer reviewed long term studies on the effectiveness of multiple boosters (let me know if there are any)", that's barely possible currently, because it's only recently that some of us that have been recommended to have our second booster. Only a few countries are recommending second boosters at the moment.
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in the USA are closely following and reporting on those that have volunteered to enter a long term study on vaccination effectiveness and there's a similar trial in the UK for immune compromised folk. Here's the LLS' latest report currently, from last December lls.org/news/largest-study-...
Israel is in the vanguard internationally with respect to encouraging boosters for older and immune compromised folk, commencing not even 3 months ago, so you can find some relevant studies from there, but they are so new, they are yet to be peer reviewed, such as this one: medrxiv.org/content/10.1101... The study is for the mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) in over 1 million people aged over 60 years and at-risk populations, who had received a third dose of vaccine at least 4 months earlier.
RESULTS The rate of confirmed infection was lower in people 12 or more days after their fourth dose than among those who received only three doses and those 3 to 7 days after vaccination by factors of 2.0 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.0 to 2.1) and 1.9 (95% CI, 1.8 to 2.0), respectively. The rate of severe illness was lower by factors of 4.3 (95% CI, 2.4 to 7.6) and 4.0 (95% CI, 2.2 to 7.5).
We know in general that adverse responses from vaccinations occur in the short, not long term.
There's increasing evidence from around the world that antibody protection from COVID-19 vaccinations wane. Importantly, we know that mRNA vaccinations are the most effective vaccination type and that there's a dramatic reduction in the risk of becoming seriously ill with an Omicron COVID-19 infection after a booster. Omicron (BA.1) is the most common variant currently, but is fast being replaced by Omicron BA.2 around the world.
I've included results from Iceland, but other jurisdictions are showing the same pattern, eg. Denmark, Ontario Canada, New South Wales, Australia, US CDC studies from various states. Many states/countries don't record the vaccination status of those hospitalised for a serious COVID-19 infection.
Neil
Hospitalisation rates by COVID-19 vaccination status in Iceland
Thank you AussieNeil. Really apreciate all the details you provide. This is some good information. Very glad to hear of the studies for people like us. In addition to reporting the results of the vaccine effectiveness in these studies, I hope that they are forthcoming on details on all of the adverse reactions that occur as well. Those always seem to get downplayed by people that report on studies. It would be great if they tracked things like “platelet response” before and after. And since we all have frequent, full lab work, would love to know the other reactions that are occurring in all of the blood work. But, I bet that kind of information isn’t going to be tracked. What worries me most, is the possible long term effects of multiple shots and it’s effect on the immune system overall- not just against Covid. No one can tell us that yet. Someday we’ll know… and hopefully, my worries will be for nothing.
"The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), (is) the world's largest voluntary (nonprofit) health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services":lls.org/our-history so I would hope that you could trust that they have our interests at heart!
LLS provide detailed information on the COVID-19 vaccination study here:
We've had many hundreds of posts and replies, where our 19,000+ members have shared their personal experiences with their vaccinations, including blood count changes. Most of the concern has been in regard to temporary increases in node sizes and white blood cell counts. Nodes swelling is commonly reported after vaccinations, including for people without blood cancers like CLL. Given your body needs an active response from B and helper T cells in the germinal centres of nodes close to the vaccination site, that should be an encouraging sign that antibodies are being produced. Certainly some of us have reported feeling quite ill, typically for a day or so, some much longer, but these side effects pale into insignificance compared to what can be experienced from a COVID-19 infection. That's why CLL specialists and the LLS generally encourage that we maintain our vaccination status, with few personal exceptions.
Given "11 billion doses have been administered globally, and 16.56 million are now administered each day."ourworldindata.org/covid-va... , the COVID-19 vaccination effort has to be one of the most closely tracked health initiatives in history.
The major concern with regard to repeated boosters, is the risk of antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). That risk was understood when the COVID-19 vaccinations were developed, but it's also a factor in authorities deciding on the timing between boosters - balancing the protection provided by boosting, while reducing the risk of ADE. We can be thankful for those in Israel who have checked for the development of ADE after 4 vaccinations.
Keep in mind that your body is constantly responding to exposures to new viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc., every second of the day, in the air you breathe, in everything you eat or drink and what your skin barrier doesn't block from entry, producing antibodies accordingly. Non-live vaccinations just use the same natural adaptive immunity process to hopefully give us protection against infections without us having to risk the actual infections. Those of us who have IgG infusions, gain protection from the 1,000 plus donors who provided their IgG antibodies for us through their blood/blood plasma donations, including what they've produced from their vaccinations or COVID-19 infections. Likewise the monoclonal antibody COVID-19 treatments just use artificially made antibodies that were found to be effective against the initial SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
thanks for your reply interesting what you say about the mRNA vaccines I also had a bad reaction after my second jab but not my first or third particularly. I wonder whether it is to do with dosage and interval between doses. Obviously there was quite a big interval between my second and third but not so much between first and second and third and fourth. I am not intending to have any more vaccines certainly at the moment.
I truly hope someday there are alternative vaccines available for those of us who can’t tolerate the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. I know of one that is being funded privately that doesn’t use mRNA technology.texaschildrens.org/texas-ch...
I am not sure of the current status of it.
Hopefully they will continue to create new and improved options.
Corbevax: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo... is doing very well, with a rollout to 2 million Indian adolescents just announced!
Bengaluru (India): Covid-19 vaccination for adolescents aged 12-14 is all set to begin on Wednesday. Biological E’s Corbevax, which has got approval for emergency use, will be administered to this age group:
I can certainly empathize with your severe reaction to your 4th vaccination as my experience with the first 3 doses of the Moderna vaccine made me very hesitant to even consider a 4th dose or booster. I've concluded that I probably have an allergy to one of the ingredients (PEG) in the Moderna vaccine. The medications I received to help reduce the swelling of my arm and lymph node along with a rash further suppressed my immune system so my antibody tests barely registered (.98 and 3.3). About a month ago I received a letter from the LLS Society recommending I have a booster. I was tempted to take the Pfizer vaccine but it was a full dose as opposed to a half dose of Moderna. The Pharmacist was actually trying to talk me out of taking the shot because of my previous reactions, but I thought a smaller dose I might be able to tolerate. I did run a fever for 2 days and my lymph node did swell but nowhere near as bad as the 3 previous shots and by the end of the week I was fine. This past Monday I took an antibody test and I received the results today....>2500 (what a relief to know I finally have some protection)!
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