Health expert, Dr Fundile Nyati, has sought to allay fears over the potential side effects of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Nyati says the vaccine remains safe and effective.
Calling for calm, he also says the Pfizer vaccine can have side effects like any other medication.
“I think it is very important for people to understand that 1291 are adverse effects out of millions of people, especially in the United States and Europe, who have been taking this vaccine including us in South Africa,” says Nyati.
“So it is important to contextualise and not just look at the line items. The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) did come out and say it is less than a percent of these adverse effects that are listed here that were very serious. Otherwise, 96% of them were mild and people were able to recover,” adds Nyati.
South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) recently announced that it is investigating data released by a US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) report indicating that Pfizer’s vaccine has over 1200 side effects, which were not disclosed to the public until last week.
The FDA says only one percent of the over 1000 side effects are serious.
Video | SAHPRA allays fears around safety of COVID-19 vaccines: Dr Nyati
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