Side effects of administration of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in people aged 55 and over were less frequent and less severe than in younger study participants. This is great information for seniors – emphasized in an interview with PAP Dr. Piotr Rzymski from the Medical University in Poznań.
- The SARS_CoV-2 vaccine is safe, experts argue
- Dr hab. Piotr Rzymski: possible side effects after vaccination “are not fundamentally different from those expected from other vaccinations against viral diseases”
- – Each vaccination is associated with the possibility of post-vaccination symptoms, but symptoms such as headache or muscle pain, fatigue – adds the expert
- Roman numerals: Side effects in people aged 55 and over were less frequent and less severe than in younger study participants. This is great news for seniors
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage
Last week, the first people in Great Britain were vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. On Monday, the vaccination process against the coronavirus also began in the United States. The first people in Canada have also been vaccinated. Preparations from Pfizer and BioNTech are also to be available in Poland, but first, the opinion of the European Medicines Agency is needed.
According to PAP, an expert in the field of medical biology and research at the Medical University of Karol Marcinkowski in Poznań, dr hab. Piotr Rzymski, the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is safe and the possible side effects after the administration of Pfizer and BioNTech “do not differ substantially from those expected from other vaccinations against viral diseases”.
- Side effects of the Pfizer vaccine. How often do they occur?
«Every vaccination is associated with the possibility of vaccination symptoms, but symptoms such as headache, muscle pain, fatigue – these are symptoms that can be called” typical “, occurring, for example, after vaccination against the flu. Basically, when it comes to the possible side effects that can occur after the Pfizer vaccine, there is nothing surprising about them. Importantly, none of these symptoms indicate any risk of events that would be a threat to health or life ”- he said.
“These symptoms, if any, will occur shortly after vaccination and should be of short duration. I definitely prefer to experience them than to participate in the COVID-19 lottery. When analyzing the safety profile, I have no concerns about getting vaccinated »- he added.
- Side effects of the Pfizer vaccine. How often do they occur
The expert explained that, based on clinical trials of the Pfizer vaccine, the most common side effects, usually lasting no more than a few days, included: pain and redness of the skin at the injection site (observed in 80% of the vaccinated), fatigue (63%). , headache (55%), muscle pain (38%), chills (32%), joint pain (24%) and fever (14%). They are more likely to be expected after the second dose of the vaccine.
«Similar symptoms can be seen with many other vaccines. Here there is sporadic enlargement of the lymph nodes, noted in only 0,3 percent. participants and lasting about ten days. Vaccination has not been found to induce neurological, neuroinflammatory, or thrombotic events. It is true that in the vaccine group there were 4 cases of Bell’s phenomenon, i.e. spontaneous and most often transient paralysis of the facial nerve. They have not been linked to vaccination because their incidence, 0.018%, is within the range of 0.015-0.03% observed in the population. It is worth noting, however, that the side effects of BNT162b2 administration in people over 55 were less frequent and less severe than in younger participants of the study. This is great information for seniors »emphasized Rzymski.
In an interview with PAP, the expert recalled that the third phase of clinical trials of the Pfizer vaccine is conducted by approximately 150 clinical centers in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, Turkey and the USA.
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As he said, initially 30 people were recruited to it. people, and then a group of another 14 thousand was added, including adolescents from the age of 12, people infected with HIV, hepatitis B and type C. with concomitant diseases such as diabetes, chronic diseases of the circulatory system, respiratory system and liver.
«At the moment, it is not known how long the immune system response is triggered by the vaccine. It is known, however, that its administration causes both the desired, strong cellular and antibody-based responses, levels of which are comparable to or higher than the average observed in convalescents. Hence, giving the vaccine to people who have undergone COVID-19 can potentially strengthen the previously initiated immune mechanisms – of course, at the moment the priority is not to vaccinate this group of people »- he said.
He added that the Pfizer vaccine – already approved for use, incl. in Great Britain – intended for people over 16 years of age. As he indicated, visible symptoms of infection disqualify him from undergoing vaccination; such as high fever or shortness of breath, or the worsening of a chronic disease. At the moment, the vaccine is also not intended for children or pregnant women. The physician qualifying the patient for vaccination should also check for a history of serious allergic reactions.
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