Singaporean singer Kelly Poon says she had extreme pain at 'every joint' after taking AstraZeneca jab

With Singapore's Covid-19 vaccination programme underway, more of us are getting our jabs, with some experiencing the dreaded effects.

It's a little scary, we know, but it's a small price to pay for getting inoculated against a pandemic.

For Singaporean singer Kelly Poon — who is now based in Taiwan with her husband Roger Yo — she suffered a myriad of side effects (including some painful ones) after taking her first jab of AstraZeneca.

On Aug 7, she published an Instagram post showing off a neat trick where she stuck a fork to her arm. She joked that she was Magneto (or rather, the female incarnation of the anti-hero). Her husband Roger, who is a Taiwanese music producer, tried recreating it but failed.

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The 38-year-old also took to Instagram Stories to share more about her condition post-vaccination. She had a fever, with her temperature spiking at 38.9 degrees, as well as headaches, stomach pains and chills.

"Every joint in my body hurt so bad that I was crying and I couldn't move," she said, adding that her sleep was also interrupted hourly by bouts of pain, and walking was difficult.

According to Gov.uk, possible side effects for AstraZeneca are feeling faint or light-headed; changes in heartbeat; shortness of breath or wheezing; swelling of your lips, face, or throat; hives or rash; nausea or vomiting, and stomach pain.

It was also stated that based on clinical studies, "fewer side effects were reported after the second dose" and those that were reported were "milder in nature when compared to after the first dose".

In April, the vaccine was associated with very rare and potentially lethal cases of blood clotting. In June, the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) safety committee identified another very rare blood condition, capillary leak syndrome (CLS), as a potential side effect. 

Kelly's experience appears to be uncommon, at least among her circle of friends. She said Roger's side effects aren't as bad as hers.

"He just has a fever, Covid arm, headaches, and body aches. His condition isn't very severe."

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On Aug 8, Kelly went on Instagram to share that she is recovering from the side effects. She said her fever was subsiding and she was able to sleep for longer periods of time. However, she was still having a slight headache and some aches.

She also revealed that she had asked her vaccinated friends about their experience so she could be better prepared for the side effects.

"I didn't expect that I would have the most severe side effects among them," she said.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is available in Singapore under the Special Access Route (SAR). Other vaccines under the SAR include the ones from Johnson & Johnson, and Sinopharm.

Once the vaccine is included on the list, a private licensed healthcare institution can bring it in to administer to individuals in Singapore, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, co-chair of the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19, said previously at a media conference on May 31.

According to a study published on July 21, two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine is nearly as effective against the Delta coronavirus variant as it is against the Alpha variant. 

The study found that two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are 74.5 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic Alpha infections, and 67 per cent for Delta.

bryanlim@asiaone.com