Question:  Last summer, I was sick for a week with something that caused my skin to hurt all over; at the time, my doctor said it was NOT COVID.  I just took the vaccine and I have the same feeling/reaction– my skin hurts, all over.  Is there any science to suggest that whatever side effects you experience from the vaccine are similar to (maybe a milder form) the symptoms you would have experienced if you had contracted COVID? 

Answer: I haven’t found much to directly answer your question.  And based on limited information, I do not think there’s enough foundation to make such a logical leap.  Here are a few bits of information that may prove helpful:

1. Skin pain is a reported COVID vaccine-induced reaction. A study published in Lancet Infectious Diseases last week examined Pfizer and Astra-Zeneka vaccination side effects in a real-world setting.  Several findings were of note, including: a) individuals with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection were more likely to experience vaccine-related side-effects; and b) the feeling of “skin burning” was reported by 1.1% of individuals after their second Pfizer dose.
2. Individual immune responses to vaccination vary substantially. This 2019 paper, Factors that Influence the Immune Response to Vaccination, provides a helpful overview of the many factors at play, including age, genetics, comorbidities, preexisting immunity, environmental factors like pollution, behavioral factors like smoking and sleeping, nutritional factors, and more!  It is SO complicated… and fascinating!
3. Skin pain and immune response are connected.  For many years, scientists thought that the immune system and nervous system were separate systems working in different ways.  New evidence indicates that they may be operating more synergistically than once thought.  In its synthesis of  results of a 2019 paper published in Cell, Neuroscience News writes, “Pinch yourself.If you feel pain, it’s thanks to specialized nerve endings in the skin. And, in a surprising discovery, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine demonstrated that pain-sensing nerves also help fight skin infections and prevent its spread, suggesting a new type of immunity.”  
4. Skin pain– cutaneous hyperesthesia– has been documented as a rare manifestation of COVID-19. The Brain, Behavior, Immunity Journal published two case reports in July 2020 of patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who presented with severe sensitivity to the skin.  A subsequent systematic review published in December 2020 mentioned that such reports were atypical.  Nonetheless, they have been documented.