Faizel Patel – 23/07/2021
The South African Health Products Regulatory authority (SAHPRA) is evaluating the medical records of at least twenty-eight people who died after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine.
Sahpra has received 3,730 reports of adverse effects following immunisation and 279 reports of what it terms adverse events of special interest.
Speaking to Radio Islam, Chair of Sahpra, Professor Helen Rees says some of the adverse effects experienced by patients may not be related to the Coronavirus vaccine.
“There are those things that might happen that is self-limiting, are not serious but might certainly be a reaction to the vaccine, we accept that and we warn people about them. But what we’re looking for is a signal of something that might be serious and even if they are extremely rare, you might see one or two as you start to roll these vaccines out to the millions and then you have to say is this or is this not associated.”
Professor Rees says most of the people who reportedly died from the COVID-19 vaccine were over 60-years of age and received the Pfizer jab during the first phase of the rollout.
She says the deaths are being assessed to determine if they were related to the COVID-19 vaccine.
“When you live to this sort of risk age group, this risk group of comorbidities, that some people will get sick got nothing to do with the vaccine. Unfortunately it’s to do with just their age and general health. But then you have to be able to differentiate between what is out of the normal in this age group. This assessment hasn’t been finished, we haven’t seen any signal that is out of the normal for the kind of age group who go these vaccines. So, all of that is being weighed up.”
Rees says they want to reassure South African that Sahpra is looking at any reports of adverse reactions that may be caused by the Coronavirus vaccine.
Listen to the interview with Professor Helen Rees
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