As with any medicine, vaccines can cause side effects in some people.

Mostly these are mild and tend to be less common in older people. They usually go away in a few days. Any pain or fever can be treated by medicines such as paracetamol.

Common side effects – affecting more than 1 in 10 people, include:

• Having a painful, heavy feeling and tenderness in the arm where you had your injection. This tends to be worst around 1-2 days after the vaccine
• Feeling tired
• Headache
• General aches, or mild flu like symptoms

Although feeling feverish is not uncommon for two to three days, a high temperature is unusual

In extremely rare cases people have developed a blood clot after having the Astra Zeneca vaccine.

Vaccines do not contain live coronavirus and cannot infect a pregnant woman or her unborn baby. You can find out more information about the vaccine and pregnancy, breastfeeding and fertility.

You can find further information on the vaccine here.