For those who have gotten “sick” from their vaccine:
Just a reminder that in clinical trials, a lot of the people who had reactions — including those who spiked a fever — were given the placebo.
I appreciate the reminder.
I've never had a vaccine reaction in my life and went to sleep comfortably 12 hours after the shot. 15 hours later I wake up shaking uncontrollably.
It's all in my head, right?
It’s not a value judgment. People who get a placebo effect aren’t weak-minded.
In one trial, there were four people who spiked fevers of up to 104.
Two of them had been given the placebo.
You had a reaction. It may not have been due to any active ingredient in the shot. But the reaction was real.
Edit: I say this as a person who got my first dose of Pfizer two days ago. I felt fatigue, nausea, and muscle aches, yesterday and today. This may or may not have been due to any active ingredient in the shot.
While I'm not disagreeing that the placebo effect can be strong, I do believe there is probably a lower case of that compared to real side effects when trying a new unknown vaccine. No one knows what to expect - if anything at all - so less likely to have a placebo effects. I know my own "covid arm" seemed to be a totally unexpected and unknown side effect (at least by me and seems somewhat rare) so most likely a "real" side effect from the vaccine. So it's possible most people are experiancing real side effects and I think it's important not to downplay them - especially for a new vaccine.
ETA: Curious to know if anyone else got covid arm/Moderna Arm too. It can be fairly mild or really nasty looking.
On the flip side, the exact same reasons a side effect is more likely are the same reasons a placebo effect are even MORE likely. The more people think it could have unknown side effects, the more placebo effects they'll have. I would actually expect a rather dramatic increase in placebo effects for this over regular flu shots.
Incidentally, I inject myself monthly with a horrible, monstrous drug that hurts like a mutherfucker because it's a very large protein and I always get an angry red splotchy spot. The drug company acknowledges the pain as normal and this redness as a possible occurence, but it's not listed as a side effect, it's considered a normal, harmless physiological response to the injection. Some patients develop ongoing, persistent irritation at the injection site, and this is listed as a side effect, but not if it goes away within something like 48 hrs.
There are side effects, adverse reactions, and normal range physiological responses. It's possible that "covid arm" isnt considered a proper "side effect". But time will tell if it gets categorized as one, because you're right, not all of the side effects are known yet. Then there are injection injuries, which are a whole other category, which I believe make up the largest number of cases of long term damage from vaccines, because some people get sloppy with their injection technique.
However, I see no downside to acknowledging placebo effects. Since a placebo symptom is as real and dangerous as a drug response, the symptom management should be the same: treat appropriately and report to the appropriate healthcare professional. Seek urgent care if needed. Try to manage the distress.
No significant reaction to a drug or vaccine should ever be disregarded, whether the person thinks it's a side effect or placebo effect. The assumption shouldn't in any way affect the way it's handled. Possible side effects shouldn't be dismissed either, but I don't see acknowledging the placebo effect as diminishing the possibility of side effects. They always coexist, they always have, and they always will.
For some reason though, people still seem to be under the misapprehension that placebo effects aren't significant or dangerous.