"Fever Symptoms Disappear in One Day... Concerns About Hospital Work Also Reduced"

Interviews with 3 People One Week After Receiving the COVID-19 Vaccine

On the morning of the 27th, COVID-19 medical staff who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are waiting in the observation room at the Central Vaccination Center of the National Medical Center in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporters Seo So-jeong, Kim Ji-hee, Lee Chun-hee] "I was worried about who would take care of COVID-19 patients if I had to self-quarantine, but now I feel I can work a bit more comfortably. I look forward to the day when even more at-risk infectious disease professors and nurses receive vaccinations and can perform their duties more actively."

Professor Jang Cheol-ho of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at Gangnam Severance Hospital shared these thoughts in an interview with Asia Economy on the 4th regarding his experience with the COVID-19 vaccine. Professor Jang received the Pfizer vaccine on the 27th of last month at the National Medical Center as a healthcare worker treating COVID-19 patients. He is responsible for intubating severe patients who require airway management among COVID-19 patients.

Professor Jang said, "There are not many people in the hospital who can independently perform their duties. If the risk of infection can be reduced, I believe it helps to actively continue the work, so I wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible, even by a day."

He explained that he experienced mild pain after vaccination but it was bearable. "It was not an adverse reaction, but there was pain at the injection site for about two days, which then improved," he said. "Skin rashes or dizziness that disappear within 2-3 days are tolerable if it reduces the risk of infection," he emphasized.

Director Kim Ki-ju of Seonhanbit Nursing Hospital, which began full-scale vaccinations on the 2nd of this month, also said, "I was worried about the possibility of hospital-acquired infections caused by me, but that burden has significantly lessened. Hospital staff are encouraging each other to get vaccinated despite the difficulties," he reported.

At Seonhanbit Nursing Hospital, 119 eligible individuals including inpatients and staff completed vaccination over three days by the 2nd. The process involved vaccination in the morning followed by observation throughout the afternoon. More than half of those vaccinated, including Director Kim, experienced mild side effects such as systemic pain and fever. He noted, "Most received the vaccine in the morning and felt side effects between night and early morning, but symptoms improved considerably after a day. Having experienced it myself, the headache and systemic pain were definitely more intense than with the flu vaccine, although still mild."

Director Kim added, "Even as a doctor, it’s hard not to feel hopeful that the situation will improve quickly after vaccination. There is research showing that a single dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine reduces hospitalization rates by about 95% after 4-5 weeks, so we have considerable expectations."

Han Kyung-dae (39), who works at a psychiatric hospital, received the AstraZeneca vaccine on the 26th of last month. Although he did not experience any significant adverse reactions, some colleagues had fevers and other symptoms. Han said, "When I went to work the next day, two out of five colleagues had chills and three had fevers. Some patients also struggled with fever, but all symptoms disappeared after about a day and everyone was fine."

Despite recent reports of deaths following vaccination, vaccinations continue. Han said, "After hearing the news, there was some debate about whether to get vaccinated or not, but there is no atmosphere of avoiding vaccination. We feel reassured after vaccination, but since we cannot be completely certain, everyone is strictly following quarantine guidelines," he shared.