Less than 1% of COVID-19 vaccine recipients reported side effects —DOH advisor

Less than 1% of millions of Filipinos who have received a COVID-19 vaccine reported experiencing a side effect, a member of the Department of Health (DOH)’s technical advisory group said Wednesday.

At a forum hosted by the Philippine Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Dr. Anna Ong-Lim said only 47,897 side effects have been recorded as of July 4, which accounts for 0.41% of the 11,708,029 doses administered by that period.

Out of the 47,897 reported side effects, 97.76% or 46,826 were non-serious while 2.23% or 1,071 were considered serious.

A serious side effect is defined by the Food and Drug Administration as one that results in death, a life-threatening situation like anaphylaxis, in-patient and prolonged hospitalization, persistent or significant disability, or congenital anomaly or birth defect.

Lim said the most commonly reported side effects were increased blood pressure, headache, pain at the injection site, fever, and dizziness.

“To date, no fatal case reports are found to have [a] causal relationship with the vaccines,” she stressed.

COVID-19 vaccine brands currently available in the Philippines are Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Pfizer, and Moderna.

DOH data presented by Lim showed that the breakdown of doses administered and reported side effects per brand as of July 4 as follows:

• Sinovac - 7,765,513 doses administered; 18,779 (0.24%) side effects reported, including 18,262 (97.24%) non-serious and 518 (2.75%) serious
• AstraZeneca - 2,657,656 doses administered; 27,529 (1.03%) side effects reported, including 27,017 (98.14%) non-serious and 512 (1.86%) serious
• Sputnik V - 127,662 doses administered; 551 (0.43%) side effects reported, including 545 (98.91%) non-serious and six (1.08%) serious
• Pfizer - 1,132,995 doses administered; 1,038 (0.09%) side effects reported, including 1,002 (96.53%) non-serious and 36 (3.46%) serious
• Moderna - 24,203 doses administered; zero side effects reported

Over 9.7 million individuals have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines while more than 3.5 million people have completed both doses as of July 11. 

The government aims to inoculate 70 million people and administer 500,000 doses daily. — RSJ, GMA News