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Let’s meet the new vaccines on the block: Sinopharm & Sputnik

Let’s meet the new vaccines on the block: Sinopharm & Sputnik

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With the COVID third wave in Sri Lanka arriving at the same time as the need for the AstraZeneca second jab, there has been some public dismay on the limited supply of Astrazeneca doses. The Serum Institute stopped exporting the vaccine from India after the pandemic tsunami hit its shores in late March. India is now the global epicentre of the pandemic and needs to vaccinate its own population.

What does that mean for countries like ours that were relying on Indian exports?

The Sri Lankan government has procured 15,000 Sputnik and 600,000 SinoPharm doses from Russia & China, respectively in the absence of Indian AstraZeneca supplies. Whilst we await trial data from Germany & Russia on the ability to mix and match vaccines, we take a closer look at these two new vaccines on the block. 

Starting with Russia’s Sputnik 🇷🇺

Since the release of its Phase 3 data in February 2021, Sputnik has been approved by over 60 countries for emergency use. It has not yet received authorisation by the WHO.

What is it? Similar to AstraZeneca, Sputnik is also a two-dose viral vector vaccine. It uses an inactivated virus (usually something like a chimp cold virus) to deliver the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein genetic information into the body to generate an immune response. These inactivated viruses are changed so they can’t replicate in the body. Unlike AstraZeneca, Sputnik uses two different vector viruses in its two doses.

Does it prevent sickness? The Gamelaya Institute conducted 33,000 person Phase III studies in Russia in September 2020. Preliminary study results showed the vaccine has 91.6% efficacy in preventing symptomatic sickness. As with most of the vaccines approved so far, Sputnik showed 100% efficacy to prevent severe disease.

What does that mean? After getting the second dose of the vaccine, if you get infected with COVID19, the probability of you developing a cough, fever or the major symptoms of the disease is 8.4% and the need to be hospitalised to 0%. 

What about safety? No severe adverse reactions occurred during the study. There were four unrelated deaths during the study (2 already had COVID when they signed up and had self-medicated whilst the other died of a spinal fracture).

What about older people? The study looked for efficacy and safety data in the over 60 population. Although the sample size was small (10%), the efficacy was the same in this group as for the younger ages. 

What about Sputnik in the real world? 3.8 million Russians have received Sputnik since January 2021 and vaccine effectiveness is seen at 97.6% after two doses. No severe adverse reactions have occurred due to the vaccine.

As of May’21, Russia has also now developed Sputnik Lite, a single dose version of its vaccine with a claimed efficacy of 80%. Data is yet to be made publicly available. 

Next up, China’s SinoPharm 🇨🇳

For the longest time, SinoPharm has been that elusive emo kid in a corner at your cousin’s 16th birthday party. Whilst the Sputnik team released its interim reports publicly in the most prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, SinoPharm is yet to release any data directly to the public on its Phase 3 trials.

With the WHO authorisation for emergency use, there was finally some data publicly available. 

What is it? SinoPharm is a 2 dose whole virus vaccine. The whole virus vaccine means an inactivated form of Sars-CoV-2 is used to trigger the body’s immune response. This contrasts with the other vaccines (Pfizer to AstraZeneca to Sputnik), which only uses the genetic information of the spike protein. However, as it’s an inactivated version, it cannot replicate and cause disease in the body. 

As of the time of writing, 45 countries have approved the emergency use of the vaccine, and 65 million doses have been administered globally.

Does it prevent sickness? As per the WHO report, 13,000 people have been enrolled in the trial to assess efficacy, of which only 200 (or 0.01%) were over 60. Vaccine efficacy is at 78.1% in the under 60s with insufficient data to assess the over 60 age group. Studies in the UAE shows efficacy at 86% however further details have not been published.

What does that mean? As per WHO, the probability that you will show symptomatic sickness if you contract COVID19 after being fully vaccinated with SinoPharm is around 22% if you are under the age of 60. WHO cannot tell whether the SinoPharm vaccine will have a protective effect for the over 60s with the data available. 

What about safety? Two severe adverse effects were reported to be possibly linked to the vaccine (serious nausea and inflammatory myelination syndrome). As always it’s a risk-benefit analysis and we should consider the high probability of lung and other organ damage as a result of COVID19 when weighing up any low risks of vaccine adverse effects. 

What about older people? Whilst the study doesn’t provide much data to go on, the post-authorisation use showed 1.1m doses have been given to people over 60 in China. 45 adverse reactions (dizziness, headache, fatigue) were attributed to the vaccine.

Mass vaccinations are one of the few ways we can stop this pandemic from continuing to ravage our lives for years to come. If a vaccination becomes available in your area and after speaking with your doctor about any medical concerns, we recommend getting the jab. It’s not over till we are all vaccinated so even if vaccinated, remember to wear face masks, avoid indoor gatherings, wash hands and stay home!

If you’d like to discuss your vaccination options with a medical professional, our on-demand GPs are available 24/7. Download the oDoc app today.

Sources

  1. Status of COVID19 vaccinations within WHO EUL/PQ Evaluation processes, WHO 
  2. Logunov, D et al., (2020), Safety and efficacy of an rAd26 and rAd5 vector-based heterologous prime-boost COVID-19 vaccine: an interim analysis of a randomised controlled phase 3 trial in Russia., The Lancet., 397: 671-681
  3. Sputnik, Covid19 Vaccine Tracker
  4. Is Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine safe? Brazil’s veto of Sputnik V sparks lawsuit threat and confusion, Science Magazine (2021)
  5. Efficacy of Sputnik V amounts to 97.6%, TASS (2021)
  6. SinoPharm Evidence Assessment, WHO (2021)
  7. Chinese Covid-19 vaccine has 86% efficacy, UAE says, The Guardian (2020)
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Variants, variants, but what does it mean?

Variants, variants, but what does it mean?

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When COVID19 hit Sri Lankan shores in March 2020, very few of us thought that this would be something that’d last months, let alone years. Even fewer anticipated that it could mutate and create variants that made a bad situation worse. However, the nature of pandemics is such that they last years (not months), and viruses use widespread infections to become a more potent version of themselves. 

This is why, fast forward 14 months, the world now has around eight variants of the Sars-CoV-2 pathogen. What does that even mean, though?

Short read: The more the virus is allowed to spread, the more mutations it will create to evade the immune response. The variants we have seen arising out of the UK, South Africa, and Brazil are more infectious and deadly. If these variants successfully bypass the vaccine response, we will be back to square one. As such, limiting the spread of infection remains an integral part of the pandemic response.

Want to know the why behind the what?


Let’s go back to the basics. COVID19 is a disease caused by the Sars-CoV-2 pathogen. The virus is a shell containing a strand of RNA. The strand of RNA has around 30,000 letters of genetic information. This RNA gets into our cells, replicates, creates more viral cells and causes havoc in our bodies.


But sometimes, during this replication process, the infected cell makes errors when copying the letters. These errors are referred to as mutations. Genetic sequencing of PCR tests helps scientists keep track of these mutations. The mutations are bucketed into groups called lineages, and if enough viruses have the same mutation, they are called a variant. If the mutations in these variants grow varied enough and change their function, you get a strain. 


So let’s put this into context. 


Sars-CoV-1 caused the 2001 SARS epidemic, a different strain from Sars-CoV-2, the cause of our pandemic. Unfortunately, Sars-CoV-2 has undergone sufficient mutations in various parts of the world to now have several variants running amok. 

When does this become a problem?

Mutations are normal. Even when our DNA is replicated by our cells, mutations occur. However, the effects of the mutation are what matters the most. The CDC/WHO classify variants into i) variants of interest, ii) variants of concern and iii) variants of high consequence. 

Although ca. 8 mutations have been discovered in Sars-CoV-2, 3 of these variants are currently classified as variants of concern. Variants of concern cause more severe disease, are more contagious and can evade the vaccine response. The remaining five are categorised as variants of interest: they can surge infections and be more infectious. However, they are not entirely understood as yet. 

What’s going on in India?

Within the span of a few weeks, India has become the global epicentre of the pandemic, with ca. 400,000 new cases reported per day. The speed of transmission and the high death toll has shocked a world that thought the worst of the pandemic might be behind it. 

Scientists have discovered a double mutation in the virus roaring through India – the B 1.617 is present in ca. 80% of sequenced PCRs. 

Studies are currently underway to determine whether these mutations allow the virus to evade the vaccine immune response and immunity generated from prior infection.

Image source: Hindustan Times

Will the vaccines work against the variants?

This is a crucial question scientists are constantly examining with each variant and mutation. Unfortunately, the answers so far have been varied depending on the vaccine and the variant. 

Pfizer remains overwhelmingly strong in the face of new variants. AstraZeneca remains viable against the UK variant but less so against the South African one. The Brazilian variant appears to be bypassing the immune response of people who had already had COVID19. 

 

So what does all this mean for us in Sri Lanka?

Viruses mutate when allowed to replicate. They are given more chances to replicate when they are allowed to spread rapidly through a population. Most of these mutations don’t cause further harm. Still, when vaccinations and increased immunity makes it harder for the virus to survive, the mutations can become more potent. It’s evolution, after all!

Image Source: BBC

Whilst the body’s immune system remains a formidable opponent to the virus – regardless of the mutations – reducing opportunities for the virus to mutate is a critical pandemic response. 

For us, it means adhering to public health guidelines:

  • Wearing masks when outside our homes
  • Washing hands
  • Disinfecting high touch surfaces and reducing movement

By doing these things, we remove the breeding ground for the virus, maintain vaccine effectiveness till everyone can get vaccinated and hopefully, reduce COVID19 to a simple seasonal cold or flu. 

Stay safe. Stay home. 

If you need medical advice, avoid the hospital or clinic and speak to one of our 1,000 experienced doctors via video call.

Download oDoc today.  

Sources
  1. Davies N.G. et al (2021), Increased mortality in community-tested cases of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7, Nature
  2. Volz, E et al (2021) Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Lineage B.1.1.7 in England: Insights from linking epidemiological and genetic data., Preprint MedXRiv
  3. Dasgupta, B (2021) ‘Double mutant’ most common variant now: India’s genome data., Hindustan Times
  4. Coronavirus Variant Tracker, New York Times
  5. Xieping, X et al., (2021) Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 spike 69/70 deletion, E484K, and N501Y variants by BNT162b2 vaccine-elicited sera, BioXRiv Preprint
  6. Emary, K et al., (2021), Efficacy of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) Vaccine Against SARS-CoV-2 VOC 202012/01 (B.1.1.7). The Lancet, Preprint
  7. Sabino E et al., (2021), Resurgence of COVID-19 in Manaus, Brazil, despite high seroprevalence, The Lancet, 397: 452-455.
  8. Roberts, M (2021) What are the Indian, Brazil, South Africa and UK Variants? BBC News
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COVID-19 is airborne

COVID-19 is airborne

COVID-19 is airborne.

How can you protect yourself and your loved ones?

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We’ve already heard it so many times. Wear a mask. Sanitize or wash hands. Socially distance. Avoid crowds. So much so that sometimes we tune out health rules and regulations. But with the recent spike in COVID-19 patients, with more patients hospitalized and more young people at that, we need to realign and come back to what we’ve always known. COVID-19 is not going anywhere and a 3rd wave has already bulleted its way onto our shores, full throttle.

As always, oDoc is here to provide you with the latest information on COVID-19 and the best protocols for keeping you and your loved ones safe.

COVID-19 aerosols droplets

COVID-19 is airborne. What does that mean?

COVID-19 is spread through the air by respiratory droplets and aerosols. Aerosols play a significant role in increasing the infectiousness of the virus. They are tiny droplets that can remain suspended in the air for hours with poor ventilation. Bigger respiratory droplets fall to the ground in seconds and reduce the chance of getting inhaled by a non-infected person.

Let’s say you go to your gym. Maybe you’re going at non-peak hours, where there are not many people around. You may think that you could unmask and use whatever equipment you please. But if a COVID-19 infected person used the gym a few hours ago, their infected aerosols will still remain suspended in the air, especially if the space is poorly ventilated, i.e. with no open windows or fans to circulate air.

You can easily breathe in those aerosols and become infected yourself. So even if there is no one else around you in an indoor space at a specific moment in time, you can still get COVID-19 by infected people who were in that space just a few hours ago.

Things to keep strictly in mind, especially when visiting enclosed, indoor spaces:

Double mask! Make sure the fit is secure with no space for respiratory leakage. If you’re wearing a KN95 or N95, you don’t need to double mask.
mask enclosed
Wear your mask/masks whenever you’re out of your home and not only when you’re near another person as infected aerosols can still remain in the air
social distancing
If possible, meet others outdoors where any infectious particles will be rapidly diffused. Wash your hands with soap or use hand sanitizer frequently. Maintain 6 feet physical distancing

Avoid entering indoor spaces that include others who are not from your household. If you absolutely need to visit an indoors place, make sure the space is properly ventilated with multiple open windows for cross ventilation and minimize the time spent in this space. The longer time you spend indoors, the higher chance of infection!

no enclosed indoor spaces
ventilation

If you or a loved one is experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, use our COVID-19 assessment tool on the oDoc app to understand your symptoms better. Alternatively, you can consult a GP on oDoc to understand next steps if you believe you might have COVID-19.

You can download the oDoc app here.

References:
 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00869-2/fulltext
https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n913
https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3206
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/sri-lanka-new-covid-corona-variant-highly-transmissible-airborne-1794632-2021-04-24

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Confused over AstraZeneca news? We break it down in one minute!

Confused over AstraZeneca news? We break it down in one minute!

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AstraZeneca, long regarded as the problem child of the COVID vaccines, is plagued again by negative news. So what’s happened? What does it mean for you?

Short read:

The overall risk of blood clots is ca. 4 for every 1,000,000 people. The benefits of AstraZeneca vaccine outweighs the risks posed by COVID19 and the vaccine itself for over 40s. Anyone who didn’t suffer from clots should receive their second vaccine when offered.

However, as the risks posed by COVID19 to under 30s are lower, alternate vaccines are more prudent for use in this population. This is not out of safety concerns but utmost caution.

Want more details? We break it down into bite sized pieces below:

What’s happened?

In early March 2021, a slew of European countries paused administering the AstraZeneca vaccines after some reports of blood clots began to appear.

As per protocol, all severe adverse effects have to be investigated by the relevant medical authorities. When investigating, authorities look for signs of causation – did A cause B? Or did A and B happen to occur at the same time?

Most often, they do this by analysing the rates of occurrence of the event in the general population (or in the specific demographic) and then compare that to the rate of occurrence in the corresponding vaccinated population.

Here’s a simplified fictional example of what that means:

In the general population, say 1% of people over 50 suffer from heart attacks in a one month time period. In the vaccinated population, if this rate is the same or lower, then the event is deemed to not be caused by the vaccine. But if this rate is higher in the vaccinated population, then further investigations or ending of the vaccine trials or drives are required.

What did the investigations show?

On March 19th, EU & British regulators stated that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID19 outweighs any risks posed by it. They investigated ca. 30 cases of clots out of the 20,000,000 people who had received the vaccine in the EU & UK.

Following this, Germany, Italy and a number of other countries recommenced their vaccine drives with prudent processes in place.

So what’s the latest news about?

On April 7th, The UK’s major medical body, the MHRA held a press conference in collaboration with the EU’s major medical body, the EMA to discuss their findings.

There was confirmation that blood clots have been identified as a “potential side effect” in “an extremely small number of people” (emphasis added).

For example, in the 40-49 age group, 0.5 harms can be caused for every 100,000 people. This compares to 51.5 ICU entries with COVID19 in the same age group for every 100,000 people.

Most importantly, the benefits of AstraZeneca vaccine was found to far outweigh the risks for the majority of people.

What are the key things to remember about this event?

  1. The vaccine is still safe to administer to the vast majority of people over the age of 30. If you’ve had the first dose and haven’t had the below symptoms, you should take the second dose.
  2. If you have a known blood disorder, speak to your doctor before going for vaccination. 
  3. Anyone who has the below symptoms four days after vaccination should seek prompt medical advice.
  4. Symptoms to look out for include: 
    • new onset of a severe or persistent headache
    • Blurred vision
    • Shortness of breath
    • Chest pain
    • Leg swelling
    • Persistent abdominal pain
    • Unusual skin bruising or pinpoint spots beyond injection site

No medicine or vaccine is without risk. But knowing the destruction caused by COVID19 (even to those that present with no symptoms), it is always a matter of weighing the benefits against the risks. Agencies continue to monitor safety and will continue to act expeditiously when necessary. 

Concerned about clots or any of the above symptoms? Speak to an on demand GP on oDoc within 3 minutes.

Download oDoc today on the App store or Play store.
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Source

  1. “MHRA issues new advice concluding a possible link between COVID19 vaccine Astrazeneca and extremely rare unlikely to occur blood clots”, MRHA website, April 2021
  2. Under 30s won’t be given Astrazeneca vaccine over “extremely rare” risk of blood clots, ITV, April 2021

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200 million doses later: How have the vaccines fared in the real world?

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200-million-doses-later-where-are-we-at

Busting Myths: Part 4

200 million doses later: How have the vaccines fared in the real world?

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By now, most of us have received a link to register for Sri Lanka’s mass COVID19 vaccination rollout. Whilst some of us have jumped on board, others may still be trying to decide. However, given the rumours and misinformation that are rife in society, we wanted to help our public make the most informed decision about vaccines.

In the fourth post of this blog series, we break down the results from the 200 million doses given around the world to decide whether these rumours have legs or are just misinformation.

Global vaccine roll out

Globally, 200 million doses of AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer/BioNtech vaccines have been administered. Some countries like Israel have raced ahead (vaccinating 71 out of every 100 people ) whilst others haven’t even started yet.

Global Vaccination Campaign

Correlation does not mean causation

Media attention on these rollouts combined with social media have resulted in  widespread rumours about serious side effects or deaths due to vaccines. But what are the facts? We are talking millions of vaccinations. So even if the vaccines have a tiny 0.00009% likelihood of a severe adverse event (death or serious side effects like anaphylaxis) when the numbers inoculated are in the millions, we are bound to see one or two cases crop up. Before the agencies can investigate the event, the media publicises the cases for sensationalism without thorough fact-checking or scientific examination. The WhatsApp sharing mill goes into overdrive. What do we miss? The important principle that correlation does not mean causation.

Let us explain: Say ice cream sales increased in a certain small town, but the rate of drowning deaths in that town also increased sharply. Therefore we decide that consumption of ice cream causes drowning.

Dr Bownstein of Boston Children’s Hospital succinctly states(2) “We have to be very careful about causality,” Brownstein said. “There are going to be spurious relationships, especially as the vaccine is targeting the elderly or those with chronic conditions. Just because these events happen in proximity to the vaccine does not mean the vaccine caused these events.”

The critical question is: are these events happening at a greater rate in the vaccinated population than in the average population? To answer this question, agencies around the world investigate each event to decide what caused it.

Is anyone monitoring these vaccine drives?

The major regulatory agencies closely monitor the vaccine rollouts in each country. Before injecting a patient, vaccine centres must speak to patients and check for reasons to not inject the vaccine. Vaccine locations must also be prepared and stock supplies to treat and manage severe adverse effects like anaphylaxis.

Once someone is vaccinated in the UK, they need to stay at the location for 15 minutes to be monitored for immediate adverse reactions. The NHS uses technology for primary care providers to log all data related to each vaccination. All reactions have to be reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which is then investigated. Deaths of any person who has been vaccinated are reported and investigated by the MHRA, including via post-mortem(3).

Similarly, the US CDC runs a Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) which closely monitors post-vaccination adverse reactions. Since the immunisation drive began in the US in December 2020 up till January 3rd 2021, the CDC reports that 4,393 or 0.2% of the 1.8m doses administered have reported adverse reactions.  Only 175 cases or 0.00009% were marked as potential severe adverse reactions for further investigation. Twenty-one of these cases were anaphylaxis which began around 13 minutes post-vaccine administration with all recovering and being discharged(4). The remainder were classified as non-serious (rash, itchy throat, mild respiratory symptoms).

But what about long term side effects?

We covered side effects extensively in our article about vaccine safety with most side effects including fever, fatigue, chills, body ache that lasts one to three days on average. 

Once the vaccine ingredients do their job – aka present the spike proteins to the immune system so it can ramp up a response – the ingredients disintegrate or are broken down by that immune response. They don’t hang around in the body. 

Ultimately, it is difficult to say what’ll happen in 30 years but vaccine side effects are known to happen immediately and in the short term not years later. This comes from the experience of having vaccines for 24 diseases, most of which are part of Sri Lanka’s mandatory vaccination programs for decades. Also good to note that most of those vaccine trials had less enrollments than the COVID vaccine trials. 

The real risk-benefit toss up is between what appears to be a safe and effective vaccine or a deadly, unpredictable disease.

What’s happening in Israel & South Africa?

People’s hesitancy to sign up for vaccinations may be linked to partial information reported about Israel & South Africa.

Let’s look at Israel first:

Since December 19th 2020, Israel has vaccinated almost 71 out of 100 people with Pfizer/BioNTech. Priority was given to the over 60+ age group, the immunocompromised & the healthcare workers. This widespread vaccination can help scientists further validate the accuracy of the clinical trial data. Maccabi, Israel’s healthcare system, states that only 28 of the 128,600 with two doses have contracted COVID19. 

However, at the same time, it appears that Israel began its third and largest peak in deaths(5) leading to its third lockdown on January 6th. So what does that mean?

Short answer In layman’s terms: correlation does not mean causation. The overlap in time of the vaccine rollout and the increase in deaths does not mean vaccines caused deaths. It may be because deaths lag infections. The data shows less moderate to severe cases this time around than in the previous lockdown in Israel meaning that vaccines are probably helping people not fall sick!

Want more details? Read on:

Case reports suggest a trend that COVID deaths lag infections by 3-6 weeks. The spike in fatalities between December 11th and January 26th is possibly related to infections between 26th November-5th January, assuming the lower end of the lag range. The 7-day moving average of confirmed cases just before the 2nd and 3rd Israeli lockdowns look the same about three weeks before lockdown. 

Most importantly, the number of new moderate and severe cases in the 60+ population peaked six days after the third lockdown vs 14 days after the 2nd lockdown. This earlier peak & subsequent decline is attributed to the vaccines(6).

Next, South Africa, UK & Variants:

2021 has brought great news in terms of vaccines. Still, it has also resulted in the news of variants or mutations in the Sars-Cov-2 virus that makes it more infectious. The big question has been how do the vaccines stack up against these variants?

Alongside the British/Kent variant (B.1.1.1.7), we now see news of a highly infectious South African variant (B.1.351). There is no evidence that the South African strain causes more severe illness; however, more infectious means more people infected, more severe disease, and more deaths. The South African variant’s main issue is a mutation that may allow it to dodge the immune system and render the vaccines ineffective. 

As always, scientists look to prove their beliefs by conducting studies. An early study (not peer-reviewed) tested the Pfizer vaccine in the lab and have found it less effective(7). Whilst Moderna’s seem to hold up, in a 1,700 person Astrazeneca early study has shown to have “minimal” or 22% protection against mild and moderate disease caused by this specific variant(8). However, this trial was conducted on an average age group of 31 and so wasn’t created to find the efficacy on the severe disease. 

However having more vaccines is now proving to be better. NovaVax, another two dose US vaccine, was found to be 95.6% effective against the original variant, 85.6% against the UK variant and 60% against the South African variant in trials.The trials against the new variants are still ongoing. 

All vaccine manufacturers are working on conducting trials and creating boosters against the variants to improve effectiveness.

Finally, want to take the vaccines but have allergies?

Both The UK MHRA and the US CDC have recommended persons with histories of severe allergic reactions unrelated to vaccines or injectable medications to get vaccinated. 

However, those with allergies to polyethylene glycol (PEG) or polysorbate are recommended not to get the mRNA vaccines. Furthermore, the MHRA recommends not to get vaccinated only if you have a known allergy to a component of the vaccines. 

Please see the links below for ingredients of each vaccine:

To summarise, major agencies have recommended that the public get vaccinated. Only those who have known allergies to the vaccine ingredients do not get vaccinated.

How to weigh up the risk-benefits?

COVID19 has caused 2.4million deaths around the world(1) and over 400 deaths in Sri Lanka. One hundred six million people have been infected with the virus, which affects the lungs and multiple organs like the brain, heart, and kidneys, to name a few. Long COVID is a condition present in many “recovered” COVID patients. They experience fatigue, muscle weakness or body aches even six months post asymptomatic to severe illness. 

Vaccines undergo rigorous clinical trials, the data reviewed by multiple panels of experts & regulators searching for efficacy and safety data. Adverse events are most likely to occur soon after vaccine administration. With over 128 million doses being administered, there have been less than 0.005% reports of severe adverse reactions. Furthermore, the vaccine ingredients disintegrate and leave your body after 1-2 days.

To put simply, COVID19 causes a more considerable risk of death and illness than the vaccines. Suppose we want to achieve herd immunity and return to economic activity (or go on holiday to our favourite locations) sooner than later. In that case, we believe it is most prudent to take both the doses of the vaccine that will be soon made available to you.

Read our previous blog on Vaccine safety: Three (scientific) reasons why they are safe 

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Sources

  1. Bloomberg COVID19 Vaccine tracker
  2. Dr. Widmer (2021) Fact-check: No link between COVID-19 vaccines and those who die after receiving them. ABC News.
  3. Primary Care Pharmacy Network., Delivery of COVID Vaccination Services (2020)
  4. Allergic Reactions Including Anaphylaxis After Receipt of the First Dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine — United States, CDC, December 14–23, 2020
  5. COVID19 tracker, Google
  6. De-Leon, A et al., (2021) First indication of the effect of COVID-19 vaccinations on the course of the outbreak in Israel. Preprint. MedXRiv.
  7. Xie, X et al (2021) Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 spike 69/70 deletion, E484K, and N501Y variants by BNT162b2 vaccine-elicited sera. Preprint. BiorXiV.
  8. Oxford/AstraZeneca jab fails to prevent mild and moderate Covid from S African strain, study shows. Financial Times, Feb 2021
  9. Pfizer-BioNTech (2020).,Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting., FDA Briefing Document.
  10. Moderna (2020).,Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting., FDA Briefing Document.
  11. Information for UK recipients on COVID 19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, MHRA

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