The COVID vaccines are known to cause fatigue, sore arms, and sometimes headaches or febrile reactions. So if you have a vaccine appointment, should you skip a workout or two? Maybe, but in the end you have to play it by ear.
Many people don’t experience significant side effects
If you are worried about the fatigue and fever that sometimes appear after the vaccine, keep in mind that not everyone gets them. For example, a recent study that included the Pfizer vaccine found that only 14% of people experienced systemic side effects such as headache, fever, or fatigue after their first dose and 22% after their second dose. (‘Systemic’ means something that affects parts of the body other than the injection site itself.) The study included people who were vaccinated after the vaccine was approved in the UK and found this rate to be better than suggested in the clinical trial data .
As for the Moderna vaccine, this graphic shows the side effects people experienced in the clinical trials. After a first dose, 38% of people had fatigue and 35% headache, and those numbers increased to 68% and 63%, respectively, after the second dose. However, that means that many people did not have these effects.
For the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 55% of people had a systemic side effect after their single dose. This, in turn, means that almost half of the people who received the vaccine did not have any of these systemic effects.
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However, sore arms are common
Local reactions to the vaccines are more common than systemic reactions 80% from Pfizer and 90% of the modern Recipients reporting a sore arm. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine did slightly better almost 60% of younger adults with sore arms and about a third of people over 60.
The timing is difficult to predict
So if you’re experiencing any of these systemic side effects, then when can you expect to feel the worst? Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict this to this day. You may feel unwell the night of your vaccine, or the next day, or possibly the day after. I was fine for the first few days after my first dose of Moderna, only to suddenly feel bad on the third day.
Fortunately, symptoms subside within a day, or sometimes within a few days. Whatever happens, you can rest assured that your life will not be disturbed for long.
What to do with your exercise routine
Having just had this experience myself, here’s what I do and what I would advise others to do.
First, think about the facts above and accept that the side effects cannot be accurately predicted. On the plus side, you can’t get any at all.
Second, leave some space in your exercise program. You will most likely miss a day if you miss one; maybe two. I got my vaccine on a Wednesday so I did my Wednesday workout on Tuesday just to make sure I got it.
Third, follow your gut for the next few days after your vaccination. I came to the gym on Thursday thinking my arm pain meant I couldn’t do upper body exercises. But I warmed up anyway and soon realized that I could do my planned workout without any changes. I didn’t feel quite as strong as usual, but that’s fine. Our gym skills fluctuate from day to day anyway. This is What it really means to listen to your body: Allow your body to tell you that it can do something even when you doubted it.
If necessary, relax and do so without feeling guilty. When I was hit by this surprising fatigue on day 3 – a Saturday in my case – I gave up my training plans for that day. I usually try to catch up on missed workouts, but in this case I knew it would be better for my mental and physical health not to let them happen. I know i am consistently about my workouts In general, skipping a day – or even two or three if I should have – doesn’t change who I am or what progress I’m making.
