A Virginia man is recovering from what is being described as a severe reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine in which his skin turned red, swelled up and peeled off.
WRIC-TV reported Richard Terrell, 74, of Goochland County, was hospitalized for five days after a sudden onset of symptoms after receiving the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Terrell, recovering at home, said he’s still very weak and “it will take some time for him to fully recover.”
Despite the serious complications, he said he’s glad he got the vaccine.
“It all just happened so fast. My skin peeled off. It’s still coming off on my hands now,” he told an interviewer.
He got the vaccine March 6 and thought he was fine.
But a few days later, “I began to feel a little discomfort in my armpit and then a few days later I began to get an itchy rash, and then after that I began to swell and my skin turned red.”
He saw a dermatologist who told him to go to the hospital, and he was admitted.
“It was stinging, burning and itching. Whenever I bent my arms or legs, like the inside of my knee, it was very painful where the skin was swollen and was rubbing against itself,” he said.
Doctors warned the reaction could have been life-threatening if not treated.
A doctor noted, “Skin is the largest organ in the body, and when it gets inflamed like his was, you can lose a lot of fluids and electrolytes.”
Doctors said they ruled out viral infections, COVID-19 itself and other potential sources.
The vaccine was approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration in February.
It calls for one shot, while other vaccines from other manufacturers recommend two.
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