Written by: Emily Joswiak • October 6, 2021• Health & Wellness

What To Do After You Get Your COVID Vaccine

You should celebrate your COVID vaccination—even if its symptoms don’t feel celebratory. Our guide will help you navigate the hours after your vaccine.

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on life as we know it for over a year, and now that a vaccine is widely available, the end may be in sight.

However, the vaccination process doesn’t end with being stuck in the arm with a needle. Knowing what to do after you get your COVID vaccine can make a world of difference in how quickly you recover over the course of the 24-48 hours following your appointment.

Wait To Leave the Center

Post-vaccine symptoms don’t typically set in for a few hours following your vaccination. However, in rare circumstances, some people have a negative reaction immediately after receiving it. Because of that, most physicians will tell people to wait fifteen minutes before leaving the vaccination center.

Don’t Make Plans

Since symptoms typically don’t set in for a few hours, it can be tempting to run a few errands or socialize directly after getting the vaccine. But overdoing it after getting the vaccine can make your symptoms hit you harder and linger for longer if you aren’t careful.

Also, keep in mind that everyone responds to each vaccine dose differently. Some have symptoms that only last a few hours; others have symptoms for several days. Since it’s difficult to predict how long your symptoms will last, it’s a good idea to keep plans light, even in the days following your appointment.

Manage Your Symptoms

As with COVID-19 itself, people have different symptoms following the vaccination. However, you can typically expect flu-like symptoms, such as:

Fatigue
Nausea
Diarrhea
Fever
Body aches

You can manage these symptoms the same way you would manage normal flu symptoms with over-the-counter medications, rest, and plenty of fluids. If you are wary of taking medication for your symptoms, CBD may also relieve chronic pain.

Make Your Next Appointment

Currently, most of the available vaccines require two doses. For the Pfizer vaccination, physicians typically recommend waiting 21 days for the second dose. For Moderna, it is about 28 days. It’s best to make your next appointment immediately to ensure you don’t forget.

We still have a long way to go to get out of the pandemic. However, by doing your part in getting vaccinated—and knowing what to do after you get your COVID vaccine—you can help us continue to take steps forward.

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Last modified: October 14, 2021