What Does It Mean If You Don't Have Any Side Effects From The COVID-19 Vaccine?

There has been a lot of information out there about the side effects you'll likely experience when you get the COVID-19 vaccine, and how it lets you know that it's working. After you get a shot, your body starts working to protect you from COVID-19 and is ready to do so after you are fully vaccinated. 

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are both mRNA vaccines, which means they introduce the immune system to a spike protein replica from the virus. That helps the immune system recognize COVID-19 and fight it. It's like your immune system is undergoing training to fight the virus should it ever enter your body. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses a disabled adenovirus to teach your immune system how to fight off COVID-19 (via VCU Health). 

It's possible to get your vaccine for COVID-19 and not get any symptoms at all, according to the CDC. You might not get symptoms from your first dose, second dose, or both. You might be worried that your COVID-19 vaccine isn't working correctly or at all if you don't get any symptoms. Your body is gearing up for a fight, and that's why most people will get vaccine symptoms. But what does it mean if you don't have any side effects after your shot?

Common COVID-19 vaccine side effects include pain and swelling at the site of injection, fever, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, nausea, and chills. These side effects are typical as your immune system is working at creating COVID-19 antibodies. 

If you're not experiencing any side effects, that's okay too. You are just as immune to the virus as those who experience side effects from the COVID-19 vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine is 95 percent effective, the Moderna vaccine is 94.1 percent effective, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 66.3 percent effective. These results are in fully vaccinated people, and the effectiveness is in preventing those people from getting COVID-19.

In the clinical trials for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, about half didn't get any side effects after getting their first dose. More people experienced side effects after the second dose — about 60 percent of the participants. Less than 50 percent of the people in the Johnson & Johnson clinical trials had side effects. Most people experience pain, redness, or swelling in the arm where the shot was administered, but it's okay if you don't get that either. The vaccines are still effective even if you never get any side effects (via the Cleveland Clinic and GoodRx).