March 29, 2023 – People who had little hope in a COVID-19 vaccine reported more negative unintended effects from the shots, in a study published this week.
It suits with the psychosomatic role of “nocebo effects,” the researchers say – when “psychological characteristics including anxiety, depression and the tendency to enhance good physical sensations” result in participants reporting more negative effects than others.
In August 2021, researchers in Hamburg followed 1,678 adults who received a second dose of mRNA-based vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna. Participants documented their symptoms in a diary, starting two weeks before vaccination and 7 days afterward.
Some participants said they didn't expect much profit. The researchers said these people were more prone to “catastrophize good physical sensations rather than normalize them.” People who had a nasty experience with their first shot were more prone to report feeling pain and other unintended effects with the second shot.
The study was published in JAMA network opened.
“Doctor-patient interactions and public vaccination campaigns can benefit from these findings by optimizing and contextualizing the information provided about COVID-19 vaccines,” the researchers said. “This could prevent adverse nocebo-related side effects and improve overall vaccine acceptance.”
More than half of the participants, 52.1%, expected negative effects from the vaccination. Another 7.6% said they'd be hospitalized on account of the negative effects, and 10.6% said the consequences would last long-term.
The Washington Times reported that “a significant number of patients reported side effects after vaccination,” but individuals with positive expectations reported that these were only minor.”Those who scored higher on anxiety, depression and other psychosocial aspects were more prone to rate these problems as severe.”