COVID-19 vaccines are an essential piece of our hopeful return to normalcy, but the shots often present with some short-term, albeit frightening, side effects. According to the CDC, common side effects are tiredness, fever, muscle pain and nausea, but swollen lymph nodes have also been reported, and supermodel Paulina Porizkova is among the bunch.
NewBeauty recently reported on this vaccine-induced swelling, noting swollen lymph nodes in the underarm area can mirror symptoms of breast cancer, and while this reaction is normal—La Jolla, CA plastic surgeon, Robert Singer, MD notes swollen lymph nodes can result from any vaccine, “or from any inflammation or trauma in the arm,”—it can be alarming, especially when a routine mammogram is on the books, as was the case for the veteran supermodel.
“I had developed swollen lymph nodes in my armpits, which I knew meant my body was fighting off infection—hence the vaccine was working,” the 56-year-old said in her Instagram post. “But on the mammogram, they decided they saw something troubling. I told them I had gotten the vaccine, and about the swollen lymph nodes, and so I had to go and do it all again six weeks later.”
Thankfully, the temporary lump found near her breast was, as she suggested, a result of the vaccine. “What I want you ladies to know is that this is very common! Look it up in the news and educate yourself. It seems to make sense to either hurry and get your mammogram in and the shot after, or wait six weeks after the shot (obviously, only if you have no reason to suspect there is something wrong!)”
