ADVERSE effects from COVID-19 vaccination remain at a minimal rate a year since government began the national vaccination program, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
In its latest report, the FDA said rate of adverse events following immunization (AEFIs) is at 0.07 percent, with most considered minor side effects.
It said that as of March 20, around 140.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered and 94,775 “suspected adverse reaction reports were received, evaluated, and analyzed.”
The FDA report said AstraZeneca vaccinees had the most AEFI reported with 35,457 out of the 20,947,696 doses administered, followed by 33,955 side effects from 44,928,059 Sinovac shots.
Next in the list are the 14,642 AEFIs from about 48 million Pfizer shots; 5,198 AEFIs from some 17.6 million Moderna shots; 4,411 AEFIs from 6.7 million Janssen shots; 844 AEFIs from 1.1 million Sputnik V/Sputnik Light shots; and 268 AEFIs from 1 million Sinopharm shots.
The FDA said majority of the AEFIs, or 88,338 incidents, are considered as minor side effects like body pain, chills, fatigue, fever, headache, nausea, and pain in the injection site.
“These usually appear on the first or second day of vaccination and may last for 2-3 days. Most people tolerate these adverse reactions while others experience greater discomfort,” the FDA said.
The report also showed that 6,437 AEFIs are considered serious side effects.
“One of the criteria for serious adverse reaction is hospitalization or extended hospital stay.
(However,) reports of adverse reaction that results in hospitalization do not necessarily mean that vaccine caused the reaction,” it said.
The report also showed that, as of March 20, there were 2,018 fatal events.
“Most of these events occurred in persons with multiple existing comorbidities. These include cardiovascular diseases, ischemic heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and infections including pneumonia. There were cases of confirmed COVID-19 infections leading to severe cases with fatal outcomes,” said the FDA.
The government’s national vaccination program was launched on March 1 last year. Since then, some 65.2 million individuals have been fully vaccinated, about 5.1 million partially vaccinated, and 11.5 million have received booster shots.
CDC INITIATIVE
The Commission on Audit has lauded Clark Development Corporation (CDC) for its initiative in dispensing COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, achieving 105,437 shots given to its personnel, stakeholders, and the general public.
Government auditors said the CDC spent less than half of its P5.98 million budget for its vaccination program, incurring only P2.984 million in obligations and leaving P3 million in unobligated funds.
“The Corporation played a very significant role in attaining herd immunity in the Clark Freeport Zone through the effective implementation of the Clark COVID-19 Vaccination Program … in support of the Philippine National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19,” the audit team said.
During the year, the CDC administered 50,166 jabs for first dose, 44,414 for second dose, and 10,857 booster shots at its main vaccination post in Clark Polytech.
This tally does not include 58,544 free port personnel who have received their vaccines from their respective local government units. Also not yet totted up are individuals vaccinated from nearby provinces by teaming up with national government agencies and the medical community in the last two months of 2021.
Vaccination of juveniles/minors and the remaining unvaccinated walk-in clients are still ongoing in additional to booster shots.
Anticipating the bulk of vaccine donations early on, the CDC provided specialized medical refrigeration units to ensure none of the doses will go to waste. A quality control and monitoring team was also assembled to take charge of the stock to ensure that the vaccines will be used before expiry dates. — With Peter Tabingo
