What side effects can I expect from the Covid-19 vaccine?
As the Covid-19 vaccine programme continues to roll out across the country, some people are worried about the possible side effects of the jab. To date, over 4m people have at least received a single shot of vaccine, and over 1m people have been fully vaccinated. According to the ministerial advisory committee (MAC) on Covid-19 vaccines, most people who receive the jab will not experience any side effects. Some people may experience tenderness or a rash at the injection site. Occasionally, for a day or two and rarely longer, some may experience headaches, feeling out of sorts, muscle pain or even a slight fever, which could be controlled with something like paracetamol. However, if you are concerned about any adverse event you should report it to a health facility, where you will receive treatment. The MAC warned that recipients should watch out for symptoms of thrombocytopenia (a low number of platelets in the blood) or thrombotic complications (when a blood clot forms in a vein deep inside your body), which include:  unremitting, severe headache, occurring during this time frame  focal neurologic symptoms such as weakness in legs, blurred vision and new onset seizures  new onset, persistent and unexplained abdominal pain  chest pain, shortness of breath and/or leg pains  The MAC said all serious adverse events reported to the Department of Health will be shared with the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) and will be presented to the National Immunisation Safety Expert Committee (Nisec) for causality assessment.