Dr. Dave Hnida, the medical editor for CBS Denver, said he has seen a number of reported side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine, including people tasting metal.
Hnida — who recently spoke at a weekly live session for CBS Denver — said people reported tasting metal in their mouth within hours of getting vaccinated.
- He described the side effects as “nickel mouth” or “metal mouth.”
- “People, literally within in a couple of minutes of getting their vaccine to a day or so after, just taste like they’ve got a lot of coins in their mouths, a really metallic taste.”
Hnida told CBS Denver this could impact how food and drinks taste. He said it’s likely caused by the immune system, which is reacting to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Indeed, patients across the country have reported the “metal mouth” side effect, according to NBC News.
- John Howard, of Columbia, South Carolina, told NBC News that he suffered from “nickel mouth” — which he described as “like having nickels in your mouth” — within one day of getting his Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
- “It’s certainly not debilitating or anything like that,” he told NBC News. “But I do hope it goes away. I would like my coffee to taste normal.”
Dr. Buddy Creech, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told NBC News there have been a few cases of such a side effect, too.
- “We’ve seen a few individuals with unusual taste after vaccines, commonly a metallic taste that lasts for several days,” he said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a list of common COVID-19 vaccine side effects you may get, which is totally normal since your body is reacting to the vaccination, as I wrote for the Deseret News.