In partnership with The Fresh Toast

New data highlights a particular side effect that may indicate whether the person who got the vaccine suffered from COVID-19 in the past.

The COVID-19 vaccines are no stranger to side effects. Now that more than 200 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, large percentages of them have reported reactions such as headaches, sore muscles, chills and a light fever. According to new research, there’s one vaccine side effect that might indicate whether you’ve already had COVID-19.

The study analyzed over 947 people who’d received their COVID-19 vaccine and were monitored for side effects. Out of this group, 265 participants had suffered from COVID-19.

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Out of all the participants, those who’d suffered from COVID-19 in the past were more likely to have experience swollen lymph nodes. Less than 1% of participants that had experienced COVID-19 reported these changes versus 4% of participants who had had COVID-19.

While swollen lymph nodes were the most prominent side effect associated with people who’d already experienced COVID-19, other symptoms were also recurring, including fever, muscle pain, fatigue and joint pain.

Overall, participants who had COVID-19 were more likely to report side effects when compared to people who hadn’t had the illness before. Still, despite this data, when patients were analyzed 15 minutes after receiving their vaccine, health care workers weren’t able to spot any differences in symptoms between people who’d had COVID-19 and people who hadn’t.

As we learn more about the disease and more data is available, we learn more about the vaccines and their effect on our bodies, topics that have provided ample room for discussion and speculation. Despite new variants of the virus and new batches of information, the vaccine remains a safe and efficient way of curbing the spread of the virus and finding our way back to normal.