What Seniors Can Expect After the COVID-19 Vaccine

In many regions of the country, seniors have been the first to qualify for a vaccination, but what should they expect after the COVID-19 vaccine?  That’s a common and quite reasonable question. After all, this is all quite new, so we’re relying on health officials for information as opposed to the experience of friends and family.

What Does the CDC Have to Say?

The CDC recommends that one of the first groups to receive vaccinations should be people aged 65 years and older. The Kaiser Family Foundation has also confirmed that, seniors are among the first people who are seeking to discover what they can expect after the COVID-19 vaccine.  

The first thing that the CDC has recommended is to pay attention to official announcements, so that you’ll know just when you are eligible to receive the shot. Next, it urges people to be vaccinated as soon as it is available to them, so that they can protect themselves and the people around them.

It reminds people that after the COVID-19 vaccine:

• You cannot catch the coronavirus from the vaccine
• You will boost your protection against catching the illness and, in the smaller chance that you are still infected, your risk of severe illness is substantially lower.
• You may need to return for a second shot three or four weeks later depending on the one you receive.

Will You Experience Side Effects After the COVID-19 Vaccine?

Some people do experience side effects after the COVID-19 vaccine.  It appears to be more common after the second shot than the first.  That said, whether or not a person will experience some, all, or none of these side effects is different from one individual to the next.

Among the most common side effects after the COVID-19 vaccine according to the CDC’s official website are:

• Redness
• Swelling
• Pain
• Tiredness
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Chills
• Fever
• Nausea

These effects are all normal indicators that your immune system is responding properly and that the body is building its level of protection against the virus. This also helps to explain why some people experience side effects during the second shot when they didn’t have any from the first one.  When a second shot is administered, the body is already familiar with the virus and will respond when it is recognized a second time.

That said, it’s important to pay attention to official guidelines when deciding what you can do after the COVID-19 shot. Rules are different from one region to the next and are under development in many places.  Keep on top of the latest from official channels to ensure that you know what is and is not available to you once you have been vaccinated.