What Should We Do after the COVID-19 Vaccination? Vaccine-Associated Diseases and Precautionary Measures against Adverse Reactions

Abstract

COVID-19 vaccines have been used to counteract the global COVID-19 pandemic. While these are effective, adverse reactions have been reported, such as injection-site pain, muscle ache, fever, palpitation, and chest discomfort. The release of inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β, is a potential mechanism for post-vaccine side-effects. Chest discomfort after the vaccination, including myocarditis and acute coronary syndrome, is a particularly serious adverse reaction. It is important to be familiar with the differential diagnoses of chest discomfort and organ-specific diseases associated with COVID-19 vaccines as the preparation for booster shots and vaccinations among children aged 5-11 years begins. High-intensity exercise, alcohol, tobacco smoking, and baths promote inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, which may exacerbate the adverse reactions after vaccination. Japanese data show that deaths during baths are the most common for several days after mRNA vaccination. Additionally, alcohol and tobacco smoking were identified as predictive factors of lower antibody titers after vaccination. In this review, we aimed to provide a few recommendations to prevent vaccine-associated disease.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccination; adverse reaction; autoimmunity; cardiovascular diseases; exercise; inflammatory cytokine; lipid nanoparticles; precautionary measures; taking a bath; vaccine-associated diseases.

Figure 1

Deaths while sitting in the bathtub after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination.

Figure 2

A flowchart of the differential diagnoses of chest discomfort and palpitation after COVID-19 vaccination. ACS: acute coronary syndrome; AMI: acute myocardial infarction; UAP: unstable angina pectoris; FT4: free thyroxine; FT3: free triiodothyronine; TSH: thyroid-stimulating hormone.