FDA reports 0.1 percent adverse effects from COVID-19 jabs

MANILA, Philippines — More than two years since the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines in the country, less than 0.1 percent adverse effects following immunization (AFEIs) were recorded by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Latest data from the FDA showed a total of 113,002 AEFIs reported out of 181,645,251 doses administered from March 1, 2021 to July 31, 2023.

This means that the AEFIs rate is at 0.06 percent out of all the doses administered. Of the total AEFIs reported, the FDA classified 102,275 as non-serious, such as body pain, chills, fatigue, fever, headache, nausea and pain in the injection site.

Meanwhile, there were 10,727 AEFIs deemed as serious, including severe allergic reactions, increased blood pressure, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, inflammation of the heart and significant disability/incapacity.

As to the vaccines used in the country, AstraZeneca registered the most AEFIs with 37,894 (out of 23,931,246 doses) and Sinovac with 37,305 (out of 48,734,507).

Thousands of AEFIs were attributed to Pfizer with 23,766 (out of 77,024,785), Moderna with 7,011 (out of 21,605,790) and Jannsen with 5,661 (out of 7,654,344).

Sputnik V registered hundreds of AEFIs with 922 (out of 1,584,507) and Sinopharm with 443 (out of 1,110,072).

“Adverse reaction reports are necessary for the safety assessment of the vaccines, making sure that the benefits always outweigh the risks,” the FDA said.