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What are the most common side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine in Switzerland?

The Local Switzerland
The Local Switzerland - [email protected] • 13 Apr, 2021 Updated Tue 13 Apr 2021 11:29 CEST
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A healthcare professional draws up a dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at the West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen, Wales, on April 7, 2021. - Britain on April 7 began rolling out its third coronavirus vaccine, from US company Moderna, as questions mounted over jabs from the country's main supplier, AstraZeneca. The Moderna vaccine, which is already being delivered in Europe and the United States, joined ones from AstraZeneca-Oxford University and Pfizer-BioNTech in Britain's armoury against Covid-19. The first jabs of the two-stage Moderna inoculation were injected at a hospital in Wales, in a timely diversification of Britain's rollout that was hailed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (Photo by Jacob King / POOL / AFP)

There is a lot of talk about potential risks associated with the coronavirus vaccine. But as the new data from Switzerland’s drug authorisation agency shows, serious side effects are very are.

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The agency, Swissmedic, analysed 1,174 reports of suspected adverse reactions to Pfizer / Biontech and Moderna vaccines, the only two used in Switzerland.

To put this number in perspective, nearly 1.7 million people have been vaccinated in Switzerland so far. Just over 645,000 people have received both doses.

The number of recorded side effects for both vaccines are nearly the same: 577 reports involve Pfizer, while 580 are associated with Moderna.

Most of the adverse reactions (778) were judged as not serious, while 396 were found to be more severe. “In most cases, however, the persons concerned were not in danger”, Swissmedic said.

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The most common serious reactions included fever (56 cases), shortness of breath (31), headache/migraine (28), reactivation of shingles (26), hypersensitivity (22), vomiting (20), fatigue symptoms (19), blood pressure rise (19), dizziness (18), Covid-like symptoms (17) and severe allergic reactions (12).

The most common reactions, which accounted for 56 percent of side effects, were injection site pain or swelling, as well as fever, headaches, muscle pain and shivering.

Fifty-five people died  after receiving the vaccine. Their average age was 84 years, and the majority had serious pre-existing conditions.

“Despite a chronological correlation, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that the vaccination was the cause of death”, Swissmedic said.

The agency added that the adverse reactions “do not change the positive benefit-risk ratio of Covid vaccines”.

READ MORE: ‘Possible link’ between AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots, EMA concludes

 

 

 

 

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The Local Switzerland 2021/04/13 11:29

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