40 Additional Cases of Adverse Reactions to COVID-19 Vaccines, Total 152 Cases... "All Mild"

On the morning of the 27th, when Pfizer vaccine administration began for medical staff treating COVID-19 patients, medical personnel were preparing doses of the Pfizer vaccine in syringes at the sterile workstation (clean bench) inside the Central Vaccination Center of the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] On the third day of COVID-19 vaccination, the 28th, 40 additional reports of adverse reactions were received in one day. All adverse reactions were confirmed to be mild cases commonly occurring after vaccination.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) on the 1st, a total of 40 adverse reaction reports were received the previous day, all from AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine recipients. As a result, the cumulative number of adverse reactions since the first vaccination on the 26th increased to 152. By type, AstraZeneca vaccine accounted for 151 cases, and Pfizer vaccine for 1 case.

Among all adverse reaction reports, fever above 38 degrees Celsius (76%) was the most common, followed by muscle pain (25%), headache (14%), nausea (11%), chills (10%), dizziness (9%), and hives (9%). All were mild cases, and the CDCH stated that no severe adverse reactions have been confirmed so far.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the CDCH (Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency), explained, "The symptoms reported as suspected adverse reactions after vaccination are all symptoms that can appear during the normal immune formation process, and most disappear within three days without special treatment."

However, the KDCA explained that it is monitoring adverse reactions that may occur with the introduction of new vaccines through various surveillance systems.

Doctors who treat suspected adverse reactions after vaccination are required by law to report them, and only those who have consented to receive text messages among vaccine recipients are guided to report via text message and the Vaccination Helper website.

The CDCH is actively monitoring some vaccine recipients through text messages from the day of vaccination up to six weeks (including the second dose) to identify potential safety issues related to each COVID-19 vaccine.

The number of people vaccinated in one day yesterday was 765, and the cumulative number of vaccinations over three days is 21,177. Among them, 20,613 received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 564 received the Pfizer vaccine.