Volunteers Who Took Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine Describe Side Effects: Reports

One trial participant compared it to a "severe hangover"

A patient receiving Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., on May 4, 2020. Courtesy of University of Maryland School of Medicine via AP

With over 43,500 volunteers taking part in Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trial, reports have emerged of people who took the shot describing its side effects, with some noting injection site pain and aches comparable to the flu jab, while one test subject likened it to a “severe hangover.”

Biotech firm Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE recently announced that their experimental vaccine candidate was shown to be 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 infection. The companies said they expect to apply for emergency use authorization sometime in November, raising the chance of a regulatory decision as soon as December.