Everyone I know has been out of action 1-2 days after the AZ vaccine. So three shots could be a week out of action. Similar to people who have had corona virus. It had better be worth it.
Anecdotally...in a very small sample size of three (over 50's) who have had their first AZ shot there have been:
* 1 person with a few chills. lasted one day. no time off work
* 1 person with chills and had to take 1 sick day from work
* 1 person with absolutely no symptoms except for tender arm at the injection spot. i went for a 40 mile bike ride the day after.
I have heard stories of people faring worse. But in my little bubble, the result wasn't too bad.
My experience (34 with possible earlier COVID case last March): I had chills that night, and I felt gross the next day. But I didn't need time off... And the chills went away with Tylenol.
Strong side effects are usually not consistent between shots. You might have a strong reaction to the first one and none to the second (which is what everyone I know experienced).
I had a CureVac trial shot recently and was quite a bit knocked out, but we will see if my second one hits me as hard; I was told that it's rare.
If we're in the realm of anecdotes, my 71 years old mother only experienced mild tiredness for 2 days.. She described it as the same as if she had been out hiking for half a day.
Definitely a lot less than if she actually had covid.
Experts say that a strong reaction is much less likely for the second shot. So anyone who suffered a strong reaction for the first one should not be too alarmed and should certainly not skip the second shot.
I think that can vary hugely though. I know of two people that had AZ jabs who said they experienced mild flu symptoms, and another two (including my partner) who didn't really notice anything.
Just a side note, everyone I know who’s had a symptomatic case (n=3) were out for more than two weeks. Not that it changes your point much. Having to keep getting booster shots that knock you out for a day or two is not a great situation
If you have a harsh reaction to the AZ vaccine (an attenuated/weakened form) then it’s likely you would have had a much more harsh reaction to the unattenuated real virus.
I don’t think it’s been studied so its just a personal theory (ie read this as if it might be nonsense) but i suspect the people with bad reactions to the vaccine are also likely to be the people who would have had a more serious case of the real virus.
Don't use "it's likely" if you don't know what you're talking about, please. I appreciate you're qualifying your statement in the second paragraph, but please don't get in the habit of it regardless.
Side effects from the vaccines have a different cause and mechanism to most of COVID's symptoms. When people say they're out of it due to a vaccine, it's usually because of the fever that comes from the immune system kicking into gear. While COVID usually does cause a fever, its more dangerous aspects are from other reactions to the virus itself.
