Some experience mild side effects after receiving the shot. More, some report more noticeable side effects with the second shot. But why?
Nextstar Media recently wrote a detailed story on this, which we shared. More, this story has two parts: First, why the second vaccination shot is more noticeable. And second, why the body has a response at all. Let’s dig in.
Why are their more side effects with the second vaccination shot According to Dr. William B. Greenough III, a professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, there’s a simple explanation for the increase in side effects.
With the first dose, your body begins building its initial immune response, including producing antibodies. But with the second shot — a.k.a. the second exposure to the virus — “the big guns” of your immune system react.
“Once your immune system recognizes the virus [after the second dose], it’s going to have a greater reaction to it,” Greenough said. “This is a sign the vaccine is working and that your immune system “recognizes the vaccine in your body”.
With the second dose, your body not only creates antibodies, but spurs your lymph nodes and other parts of the body to react to the vaccine at the tissue level.
So why is there a reaction at all?
For this question, Nextstar turned to Dr. Richard Kennedy, a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic and the co- director of the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group. The answer has a two parts.
First, the immune system has two different components — innate immunity and adaptive immunity. Innate immunity is your body’s first-line response to an outside invader.
“Innate immunity does the same thing every time it sees a microorganism in your system. It’s got to recognize that you’re infected, sound the alarm and start the adaptive immune response. Innate immunity is not very good at protecting you against viral infections. It’s more of a speed bump to slow it down”, Kennedy said.
Nextstar reports, After your body’s innate response, which occurs at the first sign of an infection or virus, adaptive immunity takes over. This kind of immunity is responsible for the creation of B and T cells, which can blast away infection.
On January 7, we reported that even after receiving the vaccination, you still need to follow keep steps.