COVID Vaccine Side Effects Are Worse for Women. Here’s Why

The good news about women and COVID is very, very good. We're less likely to get seriously ill or die from the virus. But here's the slightly bad news. It's the kind of bad that we think you'll be happy to take, given the context: Women are more likely to feel bad after getting the vaccine.

The reason behind these somewhat contradictory findings is the same, strangely enough. Women mount faster and stronger immune responses, maybe because our bodies are prepped to fight pathogens that threaten unborn or newborn children. A more robust immune response means that women's bodies often go all out when a vaccine (really any vaccine) is introduced, which leads to the COVID-vaccine symptoms that cause some women to want to hibernate under their duvets for a while.