More than two-thirds of the common side effects people experience after a Covid vaccine can be attributed to a negative version of the placebo effect rather than the vaccine itself, say researchers in a recent study .
An explanation of the terms:
Placebo is a fake substance or treatment that has been created to have no therapeutic value. In drug testing and through medical studies, a placebo may be made to resemble a drug or therapy; this is done to prevent the recipient or others from knowing whether a treatment is active or inactive, as efficacy expectations may affect outcomes.
The nocebo effect is said to occur when the patient's negative expectations regarding a treatment cause the treatment to have a more negative effect than normal.
Scientists in the US reviewed data from 12 clinical trials of Covid vaccines and found that the "nocebo effect" accounted for about 76% of all common side effects after the first dose and nearly 52% after the second dose.
The data suggest that a significant proportion of milder side effects, such as headache, short-term fatigue, and arm pain are not produced by the vaccine components, but by other factors thought to generate the nocebo response, including anxiety. , expectation and misinformation about the vaccine.
In view of the results, the researchers argue that better public information can improve Covid vaccine uptake by reducing the concerns that make some people reluctant.
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