DOH: 21 serious adverse events after vaccination recorded

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said 21 serious adverse events following immunization (AEFI) have been recorded as of March 9.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said 20 of these patients received the Sinovac jab while one got the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“‘Yung iba ay nahirapan huminga, ‘yung iba ay sumakit ang dibdib. Ito po ay kino-consider nating serious at pinag-aaralan po kung ano ang causality nito,” she said in a virtual briefing.

(Others had difficulty breathing, others had chest pain. These are considered serious and we are studying what caused them.)

Vergeire said the National Adverse Events Following Immunization Committee suspected that some of the adverse events were caused by anxiety or fear of vaccination.

Experts are conducting further studies to determine which AEFIs were triggered by the COVID-19 vaccines.

Meanwhile, 872 people who got the Sinovac shot and 85 who received the AstraZeneca vaccine experienced non-serious side effects.

Vergeire said some of the most common side effects are muscle pain, pain at the injection site, fever, high blood pressure, and rashes.

“Ito ‘yung mga common at saka minor… Usual lang po ‘yan hindi po dapat ikatakot (These are common and minor side effects and are not a cause for concern),” she said.

A total of 114,615 individuals have been vaccinated against COVID-19 as of March 10.—AOL, GMA News