Volunteers who took Pfizer vaccine say it felt like suffering a ‘severe hangover’

Volunteers who took part in Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine trials say they were left feeling like they had a “severe hangover,” according to reports.

Some volunteers who took part in Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine trials say they were left feeling like they had a “severe hangover,” according to reports.

The more than 43,500 people in six countries who took part in phase three trials by the pharmaceutical giant were never told whether they were injected with the vaccine or a placebo in the double-blind tests.

But some said they believe they had the drug because of headaches, fever and muscle aches that were compared to getting the flu shot or recovering from a heavy night out, The Sun said.

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A vaccine is seen as the best hope to break the cycle of deadly virus surges. Picture: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images/AFP

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Texan Glenn Deshields, 44, said his “severe hangover” symptoms soon cleared up, however — and he later took an antibody test that came back positive.

He said he was “very excited” by Monday’s news that the tests showed the vaccine was 90 per cent effective — and compared it to the end of a war.

“My grandfather, one of his first memories was of the bells ringing when World War I ended,” said the lobbyist from Austin.

“It was a horrific war and horrible things happened and people were just happy it was over with.

“In my mind, I felt the same way … I kind of felt it was something like that. Thank God, it’s going to be over at some point.”

Another volunteer who only gave her first name, Carrie, said she suffered a headache, fever and aches all over her body after her first shot — symptoms that were even more severe after the second one, Metro UK said.

The 45-year-old from Missouri said taking part in the trials was her “civic duty.”

“There are so many people who have had it and suffered. The thought that we could do something to stop people from suffering from this, from losing family members, that we could get rid of it and get back to some sort of normal in our lives — that’s a driving factor for this for me,” she said.

“I don’t want anyone else to be sick.”

UPDATE: We are proud to announce, along with @BioNTech_Group, that our mRNA-based #vaccine candidate has, at an interim analysis, demonstrated initial evidence of efficacy against #COVID19 in participants without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

— Pfizer Inc. (@pfizer) November 9, 2020

Ordinary Americans could begin receiving a vaccine within the “first four months” of 2021 in a move that has been described as a “game changer”.

The good news was confirmed by the US government’s top infectious diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, who is leading the coronavirus fight in America.

Speaking on CNN earlier this week, Dr Fauci said he expected low-risk Americans would begin receiving the jab by April next year, with those deemed to be at a higher risk getting it earlier.

Dr Fauci told host Jake Tapper the breakthrough was “extraordinary” and that he expected people’s willingness to get the jab would be boosted by the vaccine’s efficacy.

“If you hear something is 90 to 95 per cent effective, you’re more likely to get vaccinated,” Dr Fauci told CNN.

His comments come as the head of one of the companies that announced promising results for a coronavirus vaccine refused to say whether or not the vaccine in question will deliver on the world’s high hopes of a return to normal.

— with the New York Post