Report adverse reactions after inoculation, experts tell public, healthcare providers

The public and healthcare providers should immediately report any adverse event following immunization (AEFI) in order for authorities to assess whether these were caused by COVID-19 vaccines, two experts said Tuesday.

Dr. Eileen Alikpala Cuajunco from the National AEFI Committee said vaccine recipients can report any adverse reaction to their respective barangay, vaccination site, or the Food and Drug Administration through its website. 

She also advised the public to note the brand of the vaccine that they received as well as its manufacturer and batch number.

Dr. Gabriel Borlongan from the Department of Health (DOH) also called on healthcare providers to report AEFIs to the information system “so that it would trigger the respective investigation, causality assessment.”

“At the end of the day, hindi rin kasi siya mako-causality assessment at the end kung wala rin ‘yung mga datos sa investigation of what happened (a causality assessment cannot be conducted if there is no data on what happened),” he explained.

The Philippines has vaccinated over 1.2 million individuals as of April 17. 

The DOH said over 24,000 suspected AEFI cases had been reported as of April 11, most of which were non-serious. 

Cuajunco underscored that most adverse reactions that follow vaccination are mild and transient.

“It tells you that your immune response is working,” she said. “The benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks of the vaccine so I will encourage everyone to get immunized.” — BM, GMA News