Side effects from the UK vaccine roll-out have been in line with clinical trials, with complaints of headaches, nausea and tiredness among the most commonly reported in new data.
The UK has been one of the most successful countries so far in mobilizing the distribution of vaccines, with government figures showing more than 10m jabs have been administered so far.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published a report on Friday that covered the side effects of the 7 million vaccine doses that had been given by January 24.
That was broken down as around 5.4 million Pfizer/BioNTech jabs and 1.5 million of the AstraZeneca shot.
People who have been vaccinated can report side effects using what is called a “yellow card” system. During the same time frame, the MHRA report says there was an average of around three yellow cards per 1,000 doses administered.
In the UK, as of January 24, 2021:
– 16,756 yellow cards were reported for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine;
– 6,014 were reported for the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine;
– 50 have been reported where the brand of the vaccine was not specified.
The data have revealed the vast majority of reports related to issues around the injection site, such as a sore arm. Otherwise, there were “generalized” symptoms such as flu-like illness, headaches, tiredness, nausea, fever, dizziness, aching muscles, and rapid heartbeat.
The MHRA report said these symptoms mostly took place shortly after the vaccination and were not associated with more serious or lasting illness, saying they reflected the normal immune response triggered by the body to vaccines.
“The overall safety experience with both vaccines is so far as expected from the clinical trials,” the report added.
“Based on current experience, the expected benefits of both COVID-19 vaccines in preventing COVID-19 and its serious complications far outweigh any known side effects.
“As with all vaccines and medicines, the safety of COVID-19 vaccines is being continuously monitored.”
