Self, received both shots of Moderna back in February, pretty healthy before the vaccine, had a very sore arm (whole arm) on the injection side after the first shot and had soreness near the injection site after the second. Lasted about 2 days following injection. Onset was within a few hours.
Wife had her first shot of Pfizer in March, second in April. Very fatigued and a bad headache after the first shot. Onset was within a few hours. Headache lasted the rest of the day and fatigue for maybe 2-3 days. No symptoms after second shot. Otherwise healthy before both shots.
Have several colleagues at work who got Moderna around the same time I did. They described headaches, significant fatigue, soreness around the injection site, and one developed a migraine about a day after the first shot (though he gets frequent migraines due to multiple triggers that are difficult to avoid, so it’s possible that’s a coincidence). Most reported fewer symptoms on the second shot - which was surprising because I had heard the opposite. One reported more fatigue lasting about 2-3 days after the second shot. All are in good health. Talking about 4 people there.
In total, I have regular personal interaction with roughly 25 people who’ve had the vaccine and 9 who’ve had COVID-19. Of the 9, 3 said it was like the worst flu they ever had, 3 said no big deal, 2 only got tested because they had known infected household members (positive, but asymptomatic), and 1 wound up in the hospital clinging to life for about 3 weeks. I know of no one who had any severe/debilitating/hospital visit requiring symptoms after vaccination. Not saying it can’t happen; just relaying what my personal experience has been.
I should clarify that most of the people I know who’ve gotten vaccinated already are either doctors or nurses. The other people around me mostly didn’t have access to the vaccines until very recently and they’re mostly getting scheduled now.
I haven’t personally spoken with any doctors or nurses who’ve refused to get vaccinated. Every frontline health worker I’ve spoken with about it was thankful to have it, mostly so they wouldn’t bring it home to their families. I know a couple labor and delivery nurses who get pretty annoyed now when someone refuses to get tested because it means they have to put on full PPE (hospital policy) for every interaction with that patient. They have enough confidence in the vaccines that they’d much rather just ignore the refusal to get tested and get on with business because it takes a long time to get in and out of full PPE.