We've all heard of and, at times, experienced slight fever and pain after being given a vaccine shot. But, a hangover as a result or effect of a vaccine might be a first.
According to reports, those who have volunteered for the Pfizer vaccine trial are comparing the jab's effects to the likes of a 'severe hangover'. Many claimed that the shot left them with headaches, muscle pain and fever, much like vaccines for flu.
While one 45-year old publicist who volunteered said that first dose left her with side effects experienced to the flu shot, but she experienced severe side effects symptoms after she was administered her second shot.
Another volunteer, Texas lobbyist Glenn Deshields compared the vaccine’s side effect to that of a ‘severe hangover,’ but the symptoms disappeared quickly.
Deshields went on to compare his experience as vaccine volunteer to the end of World War I. It reminded him of some of his first memories experienced by his grandfather with bells ringing when the first global war ended. And the 45-year old publicist, she volunteered in the trial as a ‘civic duty’. “There are so many people who have had it and suffered,” and she doesn’t want anyone else to be sick, she added.
More than 43,500 from six countries have volunteered in the phase three trials conducted by the American pharmaceutical behemoth Pfizer and German Pharma giant BioNtech in their quest to discover an effective vaccine for the coronavirus. A total of 38, 955 enrolled volunteers received second dose of the vaccine as of November 8, 2020.
The vaccine trials for the mRNA-based Pfizer and BioNtech BNT162b2 vaccine are conducted using a double-blind method. It is a way in which participant volunteers do not know whether they’ve been given a vaccine or a placebo. The results suggest that the experimental vaccine shot was 90 percent effective; it has raised hopes that a possibility of a cure is on track and it might help life return to normal soon.
While Pfizer-BioNtech are making progressive strides in their quest to find a vaccine, they are not alone in this race. In October this year, Russia partnered with Hyderabad based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories to collaborate Sputnik V vaccine’s clinical trials and work on distribution modules in India.
British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca have also signed up with another Indian based pharma company, Serum Institute of India to produce their Oxford University vaccine on a mass scale.