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KUALA LUMPUR: Members of the public are asked not to worry about receiving Covid-19 vaccines despite allegations that vaccines can cause side effects.
Norleen Mohamed Ali, Senior Principal Deputy Director of the Ministry of Health’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA), said what happened in some countries was an adverse event after immunization (AEFI) of Covid-19 vaccines.
It’s not a side effect, but just reactions to the vaccination, such as swelling and pain at the injection site, which are normal, he said.
Norleen said that about 80 percent of vaccine recipients would experience such adverse effects, in addition to a small percentage of those who experience, among others, fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and even fatigue.
“These are common reactions to any vaccine because this is what we call reactogenicity. From there, we also find that there is a very small percentage and very rare adverse effects that we classify as worse or more serious, ”he said today at a virtual press conference on Covid-19 immunization here.
Norleen said that in the context of the Comirnaty vaccine (Concentrate for Dispersion for Injection) using the Messenger RNA (mRNA) method for the Covid-19 vaccine, the adverse effects of taking the vaccine were coincidental.
“However, it is difficult for us to know who will suffer this adverse effect because the analogy is the same as if we are allergic to food, if we do not eat (the foods we are allergic to), we would not know. So, just like taking medications or vaccines, if you don’t take them, we wouldn’t know, ”he said.
Norleen said traditional drugs and products could also cause allergic reactions, as could vaccines to immunize people against Covid-19.
In the meantime, he said the agency would conduct benefit assessments on whether the vaccine would exceed the risk recipients face.
“The stigma that if there are side effects, then the vaccine is dangerous, it’s wrong. If we look at the United States, they have administered 21 million doses. The number of vaccine recipients suffering from these side effects is very low, and most are mild and can cure themselves.
“Its infectivity rate is also decreasing. This vaccine is not only to protect ourselves, but also the community as a whole, ”he said.
Norleen said that people experiencing adverse effects can file a report at the nearest health center or through the MySejahtera app or the official NPRA website.
Malaysia will launch the largest vaccination exercise it has ever conducted on February 26, targeting 80 percent of the population or 26 million people in three phases.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will arrive in Malaysia this Sunday. -Called
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