Dr. Charles Webb, an allergist-immunologist in Boise, Idaho, recently explained why he thinks the new COVID-19 symptom “COVID arm” is so unique compared to other side effects of the vaccine.
Why is COVID arm unique?
Webb recently told Idaho 6 News that “COVID arm” — a reaction where your injection site becomes red, itchy or swollen — is unique because it shows up five to seven days after you receive your COVID-19 vaccine.
- “The COVID arm, basically, this is not an unusual reaction to the vaccine,” Webb told Idaho News 6. “It just is reflecting that we have a very robust immune response meaning your immune system is recognizing what we injected you with. It’s trying to respond to that vaccine to produce the antibodies and to protect you against whatever you’ve been injected with.”
Webb said the wait time of five to seven days is normal, too. He said this is a “delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction.”
- “The interesting thing with the ‘COVID arm’ is that instead of coming up in a normal time frame, normally we see this almost immediately after the vaccine, it becomes present in about 5 to 7, days,” Webb told Idaho News 6.
What is COVID arm?
Questions about “COVID arm” first came up in February when more people started getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Patients reported seeing red spots on their arms where they got their injections.
- Dr. Debra Jaliman, who works as a dermatologist in New York City, told Health at the time that it wasn’t anything major: “It seems to be an allergic reaction — a skin reaction that occurs after getting an injection. We see firmness and redness at the site where the injection occurred.”
Experts said that “COVID arm” — which has also been called “Moderna arm” by patients who received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine — is totally normal, as I wrote for the Deseret News.
- “We’ve seen reactions like this even with other vaccines,” Dr. George Morris told CBS Minnesota. “We know, when you get a flu vaccine, many people will have a local reaction in their arm. Tetanus vaccines. Shingles vaccines.”
How can you get rid of COVID arm?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists “pain,” “redness” and “swelling” as potential side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC recommends applying “a clean, cool, wet washcloth over the” injection site to bring swelling down.