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What are Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines' side effects? Joe Biden pledges doses for 300M Americans by July

'When I became president three weeks ago, America had no plan to vaccinate most of the country. It was a big mess," Biden added, slamming former President Donald Trump

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday, February 11, that by the end of July, they will have Covid-19 vaccines for 300 million Americans. Speaking in Maryland at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, the POTUS said, "Within three weeks, 'round-the-clock work with so many people standing behind me and in front of me, we've now purchased enough vaccine supply to vaccinate all Americans, and now we're working to get those vaccines into the arms of millions of people."

A total of 200 million Covid-19 vaccine doses will be delivered by Moderna and Pfizer by the end of July along with 100 million "expected doses" by the end of May, according to a CNN report. 

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Biden also spoke about the lack of immediate attention given to the vaccines by former President Donald Trump, adding, "While scientists did their job in discovering vaccines in record time, my predecessor — I'll be very blunt about it — did not do his job in getting ready for the massive challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions of Americans."

"He didn't order enough vaccines. He didn't mobilize enough people to administer the shots. He didn't set up the federal vaccine centers where eligible people can go and get their shots. When I became president three weeks ago, America had no plan to vaccinate most of the country. It was a big mess," Biden added. He also reiterated that the goal of given 100 million vaccine doses to Americans in his first 100 days of office is on track.

Are vaccine side effects a good thing?

Vaccines have always come with side effects — some mild, others severe — it not only depends on the person but also on the vaccine and the illness behind it as well. According to a VOX article though, the side effects that the Covid-19 vaccines result in it might actually be a good thing. People are said to experience pain at the site at which the vaccine was injected along with feeling a tad bit fatigued.

However, it is also important to remember that these vaccines reportedly come with "more side effects than we are used to" but scientists aren't too worried. The vaccine will not allow its recipient to catch the virus but rather train the recipient's immune system to fight off the virus. The side effects that come along after being injected with the vaccine is your immune system responding to the vaccine. Watch the video below to understand more about this concept:

Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine side effects

According to the FDA, the first emergency use authorization for a vaccine for the prevention of Covid-19 for individuals 16 years of age and older was issued on December 11, 2020. This allowed the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to be distributed in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration also listed the common side effects that could be experienced with the vaccine which they reveal "typically lasted several days".

The side effects include pain at the site of the vaccination, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain and fever. They also mentioned that these side effects were suffered more after the second dose of the vaccine than the first does.

It seems as though people are experiencing the same side effects listed by the FDA — there may be exceptions we don't know of. One user wrote about the experience tweeting, "Okay so far i’m having high fever as a side effect from the 2nd dose of the pfizer covid vaccination. But so far it’s manageable so far. I just feel weak and superbly cold. Should’ve brought a jacket with me."

Another added, "I got Pfizer, and the first dose made me fatigued that evening. The worst side effect I had was soreness in my arm and stiffness in my shoulder, but I took a Tylenol and it helped a lot. That really only lasted for two or three days then it was fine!"

Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine side effects 

The FDA also issued another emergency use authorization for a second vaccine to prevent Covid-19 for individuals 18 years of age and older on December 18, 2020. This, in turn, allowed the Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine to be distributed in the United States. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the side effects for this vaccine also "typically lasted several days" but included a bit more side effects than the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19.

Moderna Covid-19 vaccine's side effects include pain at the vaccination site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, swollen lymph nodes in the same arm as the injection, nausea, vomiting and fever. With this vaccine, like Pfizer, the side effects experienced were more after the second dose than the first.

People who have already received the Moderna vaccine dose (some one dose, some both doses) have spoken about their side effects as well. "I got the moderna one and only side effect was SLIGHT nausea for a few hours that same day and arm soreness for two days," wrote one user.

A user noted, "I got my moderna vaccine a couple of weeks. A sore shoulder is all I had. The one side effect was a sense of relief". Another added, "I’ve had body aches and a low grade fever but other than that, the side effect after the second dose of moderna haven’t been too bad!"

For both vaccines it's important to remember to consult a doctor should anything out of the ordinary occur or if anything that concerns the recipient occurs.

Biden praised for vaccine protocol

It seems Biden's readiness to help the United States during the Covid-19 pandemic isn't falling on deaf ears. People took to social media to thank their new President for his efforts in making sure that the country's citizens are vaccinated against the virus that has killed millions of their own. "Whooooo Hooooo! I got a vaccine appointment today. Pfizier dose #1 on Feb 27. Thank you science. Thank you Pfizer. Thank you @JoeBiden's COVID logistics team," wrote one user.

Another added, "On the same day that President Biden secured 200M more vaccine doses, my husband was scheduled for his first COVID injection. Thank you, @potus". "This is great news! As a survivor of heart failure likely caused by a previous viral infection, every day I wait for a vaccine is an opportunity for the virus that causes COVID-19 to infect me and, most likely given my co-morbidities, to kill me. Thank you Pres. Biden & team!" added another user.