Table 4.
Adverse events and frequency thereof as listed in the Summary of Product Characteristics by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency for the different COVID-19 vaccines
| BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) | mRNA-1273 (Moderna) | ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Oxford–AstraZeneca) | Ad26COV2.S (Janssen) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very common (more than 1 in 10) | Injection site pain and swelling, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, chills, fever | Swelling in the underarm, headache, nausea vomiting, muscle ache, joint aches, and stiffness, injection site pain or swelling, feeling very tired, chills, fever | Injection site tenderness, pain, warmth, itching, or bruising, feeling tired (fatigue) or generally feeling unwell, chills or feeling feverish, headache, feeling sick (nausea), joint pain or muscle ache | Headache, nausea, muscle aches, injection site pain, feeling very tired |
| Common (up to 1 in 10) | Injection site redness, nausea | Rash, rash, redness, or hives at the injection site | Injection site swelling or redness, fever (>38°C), being sick (vomiting) or diarrhea | Injection site redness and swelling, chills, joint pain, cough, fever |
| Uncommon (up to 1 in 100) | Enlarged lymph nodes, feeling unwell, pain in limb, insomnia, injection site itching | Injection site itchiness | Sleepiness or feeling dizzy, decreased appetite, enlarged lymph nodes, excessive sweating, itchy skin, or rash | Rash, muscle weakness, arm or leg pain, feeling weak, feeling generally unwell, sneezing, sore throat, back pain, tremor, excessive sweating |
| Rare (up to 1 in 1000) | Temporary one-sided facial drooping (Bell's palsy) | Temporary one-sided facial drooping (Bell's palsy) | .. | Allergic reaction, hives |
| Very rare (up to 1 in 10 000) | .. | .. | Blood clots often in unusual locations (eg, brain, liver, bowel, spleen) in combination with low concentrations of blood platelets | Blood clots often in unusual locations (eg, brain, liver, bowel, spleen) in combination with low concentrations of blood platelets |
| Not known | Severe allergic reaction | Severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), hypersensitivity | Severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), hypersensitivity | Severe allergic reaction |