More side effects in the vaccine’s second dose? Experts explain - TODAY

As the coronavirus vaccines continue to be distributed across the country, there have been anecdotal reports of people experiencing more side effects after the second dose, but experts say this is a "normal immune response.".

TODAY's Al Roker even mentioned his concerns about dealing with related side effects before he got his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, noting in early February that he had been hearing stories from friends that had felt more symptoms after getting the second shot.

Kavita Patel told Al that there's no reason to worry: While about a third of the people who receive the vaccine have symptoms that "seem like the flu," that's an expected immune response.

"The second vaccine (dose) — think of it as having that hit to your immune system, and your immune system now recognizes the vaccine, so it does its job," explained Patel, who said that she herself had had a reaction to the second dose.

So when the body's immune system sees (the vaccine) a second time, there are more cells and there's a more intense immune response, resulting in those side effects."