Vaccination and Lymph Nodes

Play

Anchor lead: Women who get vaccinated for Covid-19 may develop swollen lymph nodes, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Covid-19 immunizations may cause the lymph nodes in the armpit, or axilla, to become swollen and tender for a time. Women who experience this side effect need not worry that they’ve suddenly developed breast cancer. That’s according to William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.

Nelson: I think the upshot of all this is that lymph nodes can be swollen, by the way in men as well as women, but in this case women are the ones more concerned about their breast cancer risk. It’s probably best not to do the mammogram shortly after being vaccinated after four or five days you might have swollen lymph nodes a sore arm this kind of thing. It’s probably best to wait a month and you can always contact your physician over this. I think to be aware that swollen lymph nodes these kinds of things can occur as a consequence of vaccination. When they do they will get swollen and that swelling will go away.  :31

Nelson hopes such concerns will not cause women to put off being vaccinated against Covid-19. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.