You should expect that your body will react after the coronavirus vaccination and you may notice this reaction. Various different symptoms can occur such as tiredness, headache, aching limbs, fever, cold-like symptoms and pain similar to muscle stiffness in the vaccinated arm.

It is important to remember that these are not unwanted side effects. Rather, they are signs that the vaccine has triggered an immune reaction in your body – just as it should - and are nothing to worry about. A strong immune reaction can be unpleasant but it usually only lasts for a few days.

It is not possible to predict how any one individual will react. Some people experience stronger reactions while others don’t react at all.

In rare cases, there can also be side effects and complications after vaccination. These can include symptoms such as headache, respiratory distress, swelling and paralysis of arms or legs, chest pain, skin bleeding and paralysis of the chest or face. Symptoms such as respiratory distress, pronounced heartbeat and chest pain can be signs of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) or pericarditis (inflammation of the pericardial sac surrounding the heart). These primarily affect younger males – young men, adolescents and boys. Anyone who experiences these or other side effects 4 to 16 days after being vaccinated should consult a doctor.

Further information about the side effects of coronavirus vaccinations is available on the Federal Health Ministry’s website gesund.bund.de, on the BzGA (Federal Centre for Health Education) website infektionsschutz.de and from the Paul Ehrlich Institute.

The Share to Care initiative provides evidence-based information about infection risks and the characteristics of the illness in vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

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