Women are more likely than men to suffer fever, headaches and muscle pain after their flu jab, a study has revealed.
They are also at a higher risk of an “injection site reaction”, such as pain or swelling, experts found.
Researchers said that for every 1,000 flu jabs, it could be expected that there would be 115 additional cases of site reactions in women compared to men.
And there would be more cases of “systemic reactions”, such as fever, in females, they added.
The University of Montreal team analysed data on more than 34,000 people who took part in 18 studies. The authors wrote: “Transparent communication of this risk could increase the trust in vaccines and limit vaccine hesitancy.”
The findings are published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Meanwhile, parents are being urged to get their children vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella after a “worrying” drop in the uptake.
Figures from NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency show 92.5 percent of children had received the first dose of the MMR jab at five years old by 2022/23, the lowest tally since 2010/11.
It meant teams across England failed to meet the uptake recommended by the World Health Organisation.
