The first paper I found, from JAMA, seemed to conclude that there are no side effects I had imagined them or, as my wife correctly pointed out, it might be coincidence that I had the vaccination and then symptoms from some other cause. I wondered if I could find an answer to the simple question of “Who is most likely to experience adverse effects of influenza vaccination?” Might it be related to age, gender, having the vaccine for the first time, having reactions in the past, being pregnant, a history of not having the flu, or other factors? Despite my illogicality I think that my suggestions for research still apply-and to the pneumococcal vaccine as well as the flu vaccine.) Perhaps in retrospect I reacted to it rather than the flu vaccine and perhaps reactions are commoner if they are given together. (Illogically I didn’t when this happened look up the side effects of the pneumococcal vaccine, but I have now and they are similar and seem to be commoner. I went to bed early, slept soundly, and the next morning I was fine.

None of the symptoms were severe, but they were enough to stop me having an effective day. The side effects includes headache, aching muscles or joints, fever, feeling generally unwell, sweating, shivering, fatigue, and pain, swelling, redness, bruising or at the injection site. The side effects are said to occur in between one in 10 and one in 100 people, so I’d been unlucky. The next morning I felt grotty and looked up the symptoms of adverse effects from influenza vaccination on NHS Choices. I went to bed but slept badly, unable to sleep on the side vaccinated, and becoming feverish during the night. My arm was red, hard, and sore where I’d been vaccinated. It wasn’t until the evening when I began to shiver and feel cold. We even ate our lunch out of doors, which is unusual for London in December. Immediately afterwards I cycled seven miles to and from a lunch with a friend on a delightful sunny day. I hadn’t gone to get the pneumococcal vaccine, but the nurse suggested that I have it as well. I had both the influenza vaccine and the pneumococcal vaccine at the same time through the same needle in the morning. By the autumn when the time will come again for the influenza vaccine my blog will be forgotten and not discourage anybody for being vaccinated–but the research questions I’m posing will still be valid. Indeed, I haven’t had any illness at all since my flu vaccine. The flu season is now largely over, and I have not had the flu. I have deliberately delayed in posting this blog because I don’t want to put people off having the flu vaccine. Could it be that I was having it for the first time? Will I be likely to get them again if I’m vaccinated next year? Unfortunately I developed flu-like symptoms within a few hours of my vaccination, leaving me wondering who is most likely to have side effects from the vaccine. Three factors influenced me: two tough friends who had each for the first time spent a week in bed with the flu the doctor telling my wife that she should have the vaccine “for the sake of others” and an Australian critical care doctor telling me on Twitter that they had in their winter that precedes ours seen more severe cases of flu than usual. I don’t think that I’ve ever had the flu, certainly nothing that affected me for more than a day, but last year I had the influenza vaccine for the first time. A simple question that seems to be unanswered but should be answered, says Richard Smith

2019 flu shot side effect