Navigation thread
Navigation thread
COVID-19
Make a donation
Make a donation
PortalClinic home
Joint project with BBVA Foundation website.This link opens in a new tab.

What vaccines are available for COVID-19?

Reading time: 2 min

The role of current COVID-19 vaccines is to mitigate the severity of the disease and reduce the risk of complications and death, rather than prevent most SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Even in the absence of a public health emergency, the public should continue with vaccination to prevent or significantly reduce the likelihood that individuals in high-risk groups will develop a severe COVID-19 infection. The use of safe and effective vaccines against the predominant SARS-CoV-2 variants, as well as the duration of the immune response (waning immunity), are key factors in providing better protection for high-risk populations

Even in the absence of a public health emergency, the public should continue with vaccination to prevent or significantly reduce the likelihood that individuals in high-risk groups will develop a severe COVID-19 infection.

It is difficult to determine how long a vaccine can provide protection against SARS-CoV-2. Updated additional doses (boosters) are effective against different SARS-CoV-2 variants and enhance humoral immunity—albeit temporarily—as well as cellular immunity.

Different approaches are used in the development of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. mRNA vaccines, developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are the most widely used worldwide. Protein-based vaccines (Novavax and HIPRA) provide an alternative to mRNA vaccines.

Data collected and analysed show that COVID-19 vaccines have a very favourable safety profile across all age groups and that the benefits of approved vaccines outweigh their potential risks.

Side effects following COVID-19 vaccination vary from person to person. Most individuals experience no adverse effects or only mild and temporary reactions, such as pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache or muscle aches (Table).

collapse:collapse; border:none">

Vaccine

>1/10 vaccinated

<1/10 vaccinated

<1/100 vaccinated

<1/1000 vaccinated

HIPRA

Pain at the injection site, headache, fatigue, muscle pain

Lymphadenopathy, diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, fever, pain and redness in the armpit, swelling at the injection site

Insomnia, dizziness, drowsiness, sore throat, abdominal pain, itching, joint pain, weakness, chills, malaise

Paraesthesia, hypoaesthesia, rash, erythema, back pain, bruising at the injection site

Novavax

Headache, nausea or vomiting, muscle or joint pain, tenderness and pain at the injection site, fatigue, malaise

Redness and swelling at the injection site, fever, pain in the extremities

Lymphadenopathy, hypertension, rash, itching at the injection site, pruritic rash

Paraesthesia, hypoaesthesia

Pfizer-BioNTech

Pain and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, chills, fever, diarrhoea

Redness at the injection site, lymphadenopathy, nausea and vomiting

Itching at the injection site, arm pain, difficulty sleeping, malaise, decreased appetite, lethargy, hyperhidrosis, night sweats, asthenia, rash, itching

Acute peripheral facial paralysis or paresis

Moderna

Redness, pain and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, chills, fever, swollen or tender lymph nodes under the arm, headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea, vomiting

Urticaria and rash at the injection site, diarrhoea

Itching at the injection site, dizziness, abdominal pain

Facial swelling, acute peripheral facial paralysis, paraesthesia, hypoaesthesia

Adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines authorised in the European Union (2024 data).

Read more FAQs about COVID-19 vaccines
PortalClinic home
Joint project with BBVA Foundation website.This link opens in a new tab.

Substantiated information by:

Published: 12 March 2020
Updated: 17 December 2024

The donations that can be done through this webpage are exclusively for the benefit of Hospital Clínic of Barcelona through Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica and not for BBVA Foundation, entity that collaborates with the project of PortalClínic.

Subscribe

Receive the latest updates related to this content.

Thank you for subscribing!

If this is the first time you subscribe you will receive a confirmation email, check your inbox

An error occurred and we were unable to send your data, please try again later.

COVID-19 related news