BANGKOK – The Head of the Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Dr. Yong Poovorawan, has responded to questions about the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines developed by China’s Sinovac.
Dr. Yong said that there are people who are afraid of potential side effects caused by the vaccine. According to a study in the United States (US), there were 4.5 reported cases of anaphylaxis, or a severe allergic reaction to medication, per 1 million people receiving COVID-19 inoculations from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in a month.
According to autopsy findings and the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the no deaths were due to the vaccine. Medical personnel are monitoring for potential side effects among those administered with the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine. Currently, vector viral vaccines, including AstraZeneca’s, are being administered the most. Studies also reported fewer side effects on specific organs or body systems.
Inactivated vaccines, such as Sinovac Sinopharm’s vaccine, use a deactivated version of a pathogen and its antigens to induce an immune response. Such vaccines are used to treat diseases, such as rabies, polio and Hepatitis A, and side effects are less common.
People should not be concerned about receiving the Sinovac vaccine or its side effects. The vaccine will arrive in Thailand shortly, to help the country achieve herd immunity against COVID-19. (NNT)
