This serious side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine can be seen lying down

While reactions such as headache and fatigue are to be expected with the COVID-19 vaccination, some rare cases have also been reported. From allergic reactions to blood clots, these reactions are worrying, although very unlikely. These include myocarditis and pericarditis, diseases that lead to inflammation of the heart.

According to former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, one of the clearest ways to tell is when you lie down. “The signs and symptoms of pericarditis are typically sharp or sharp chest pain that is persistent. It’s positional. So it hurts more when you sit back, ”he told CBS News.

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Photo from CDC via Unsplash

“Sometimes it hurts to take a deep breath because the pericardium, the lining of the heart, rubs against the chest wall, and it can be associated with a fever,” he said. In most cases these symptoms appeared relatively quickly, “within probably the first two or three days, mostly after the second dose”.

These conditions show up in a variety of ways, with symptoms such as shortness of breath, sharp chest pain, chest flutter, and fever. While these symptoms remain unlikely, the CDC reports that they were higher than expected in young adults.

Out of 20 million vaccinations, about 275 cases have been reported in people aged 16 to 24.

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Because these side effects are so unlikely, Gottlieb said there was no reason people should postpone their vaccines. “I don’t think people should be nervous now. I don’t think it will change the benefit-risk balance of this vaccine. “

It is important to know that there is currently no way to know if the vaccine caused these palpitations. It is possible that young adults developed their disease from other reasons, whether it be from other viruses or from the effect of the vaccine on people’s immune systems.