[:en]Should I get the COVID-19 vaccine? I am afraid of the side effects!
That is probably the most in-vogue discussion nowadays. As with any vaccine, the COVID-19 vaccine comes with a series of possible side effects. These side effects include pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, post vaccination fever and chills, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, tiredness , lymph node swelling at neck or arms. Such adverse events are generally mild and will resolve in a few days to about a week. Serious complications such as severe allergic reactions are considered very rare. In comparison, the risk of contracting COVID-19 and potential long term side effects from the disease is higher. Commonly reported long-term symptoms of COVID-19 are fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, joint pain, brain fog, muscle pain and headaches. These symptoms can last for many months after a COVID-19 infection! Knowing this, doesn’t a COVID-19 vaccine now look very enticing?
Since January, the Government has also invested a lot of resources into vaccinating our population. It has rapidly set up multiple vaccination locations across Singapore. At the time of writing, there are 31 vaccination centers, 20 polyclinics and 22 clinics providing COVID-19 vaccination services. That is a whopping 73 locations whereby one can get his or her COVID-19 vaccine.
However, the vaccine alone is not a panacea to the pandemic. Every vaccine has a failure rate. Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccine is about 95% effective. That is, for every 100 vaccination, about 5 will fail to achieve immunity to the COVID-19 virus. Hence, to protect these 5%, there is still a need for preventive measures like mask wearing and social distancing.
Do not hesitate anymore. If you qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine and have no contraindications to it, go for it![:]
Newsletter
