School inoculation got underway on Wednesday, with five cities and counties administering the Pfizer COVID vaccine. A handful of teenagers experienced fainting or dizziness after vaccination. Experts say these symptoms are due to the fear of needles, and not to safety issues with the vaccine itself. To reduce the risk of post-vaccination fainting, students are advised to sleep well the night before and avoid getting a shot on an empty stomach.

She’s the first in Taiwan to receive the Pfizer vaccine. Here at Taoyuan’s Dayuan International Senior High School, this student is the picture of calm. But she says that today, she’s a bundle of nerves.

It was the first day back at school after Mid-Autumn Festival. In Taoyuan, Taipei, New Taipei, Miaoli and Tainan, it was also the first day of school inoculation. In Taoyuan, there were two schools that each reported a student with fainting or dizziness after vaccination. Both had a history of needle-phobia. It’s believed that their symptoms were due to the jab and not to the vaccine itself.

Over in Taipei, Mayor Ko Wen-je inspected the inoculation drive at Yucheng Senior High School. He called on students to not abuse vaccine leave.

Ko Wen-je
Taipei mayor
You can take up to three days off. But that doesn’t mean you absolutely have to take three days off. That’s on your conscience

In Taipei, two schools administered vaccines to 1,281 students. By the afternoon, 235 of the students, or about 20%, had requested vaccine leave. Over in New Taipei, there was no need to request vaccine leave. For two days after inoculation, classes at every school in the city must be conducted remotely.

Hou Yu-ih
New Taipei mayor
For two days after inoculation, students should monitor their health. Teachers will continue looking after their students online.

Vaccination began in Tainan in the afternoon. Mayor Huang Wei-cher headed over to Tzu Chi Senior High School to oversee the process. Several students experienced fainting or dizziness after injection. Overall the rollout was smooth, although about a dozen students declined their shots, due to their fear of needles. Experts say that mass vaccination events can trigger the collective occurrence of fainting or lightheadness among teens. They advise lowering teens’ anxiety by limiting the size of groups being vaccinated.

Philip Lo
CECC medical response division
Indeed, the Umi-machi vaccination style is more suitable for older adults, and especially for people with reduced mobility. For younger people, such as students, ways to avoid fainting are eating before inoculation, getting plenty of sleep and staying calm.

About 1.29 million students have submitted consent forms for getting a Pfizer vaccine. That’s about 93.1% of all students. To reduce the risk of fainting after injection, the CECC recommends eating and sleeping well and trying to stay relaxed during the jab.