Vaccines are safe, with minimal side effects, says expert

Covid-19 vaccines are safe as side effects have been shown to be minimal, says a local infectious disease expert.

Penang Hospital infectious disease unit head Dr Chow Ting Soo said this was proven in the United States which started its mass vaccinations since early December last year, with about 25 million doses being delivered.

She said post-vaccination deaths were all reported to be practically non-related to the vaccine.

“The most common side effects were headache, muscle ache and soreness on the site of the injection.

“There were reports of anaphylaxis, a severe allergy response, and it would have occurred within 10 to 15 minutes after vaccination.

“This is thought to be a reaction to an ingredient in the vaccine called polyethylene glycol,” she said in an interview.

Dr Chow is spearheading a team of 16 physicians and pharmacists as part of a global research to counter the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 under a World Health Organisation initiative.

She said that according to published data on the two US Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccines, the adverse effects were almost similar between the placebo and vaccine groups.

She said that those aged over 60 and with comorbidities should take the vaccine.

“Besides frontliners, caretakers at health facilities should also be vaccinated as they are the ones who need to care for the vulnerable groups.

“As the person leading the research team, I will definitely take the vaccine,” she added.

Dr Chow said that those with a history of severe allergy to certain drugs or food and those with immuno-compromised diseases needed to consult a physician before vaccination.

“The rest of the population above 18 years should be vaccinated in stages,” she added.

She said there were two Covid-19 vaccines approved by the FDA – Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

She said that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had shown an efficacy rate of 95% in protection against moderate to severe Covid-19 during the Phase 3 trial on more than 43,000 people.

As for the Moderna vaccine, 30,000 volunteers received either a placebo or two doses of the vaccine and the result was a 94% efficacy rate.

“These two types of vaccines have shown to be safe on its safety profile as well,” she added.

The 50-year-old doctor hoped that that the vaccines available now would help break the chain of infections and confer immunity to the majority of the population to enable people to return to their normal lives in the pre-pandemic period.