1726 Weekend Vaccine Adverse Reactions↑... 3 Deaths, Causality Unconfirmed

Anaphylaxis 3 Cases, Major Adverse Reactions 27 Cases... Others Mild
First Dose AZ, Second Dose Pfizer 'Heterologous Vaccination' Related Cases 55+ Total 3,057 Cases

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] As the number of COVID-19 vaccine recipients increases, reports of adverse reactions also rose by about 1,700 over the past weekend.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team (Promotion Team) on the 16th, a total of 1,726 new cases suspected of adverse reactions after vaccination were reported to health authorities from the 14th to the 15th. By vaccine type, there were 1,322 cases for Pfizer, 315 for AstraZeneca (AZ), and 89 for Moderna. Daily reports of adverse reactions were 1,216 on the 14th and 510 on the 15th.

There were 3 new death reports, all of whom had received the Pfizer vaccine. The causal relationship between vaccination and death has not yet been confirmed, and the Promotion Team plans to evaluate the relevance through expert assessment.

Reports suspected of severe systemic allergic reactions called 'anaphylaxis' increased by 3 cases. Two were Pfizer recipients, and one was an AstraZeneca vaccine recipient.

There were 27 major adverse reaction cases, including 'special interest' adverse reactions, ICU admissions, life-threatening conditions, permanent disabilities, and sequelae (Pfizer 16 cases, AstraZeneca 9 cases, Moderna 2 cases). The rest were cases reporting common post-vaccination symptoms such as injection site redness, pain, swelling, muscle pain, and headache.

Reports suspected of adverse reactions related to 'heterologous vaccination'?where the first dose was AstraZeneca and the second dose was Pfizer?increased by 55 cases, bringing the cumulative total to 3,057. Among the 55 new cases, there was one death and one major adverse reaction case each. Heterologous vaccination adverse reactions are counted redundantly within the total adverse reaction reports.

Since the start of vaccination in Korea on February 26, the cumulative number of suspected adverse reaction reports is 140,855. Compared to the cumulative number of vaccinations as of midnight that day (30,998,451 doses), this represents about 0.45%. The current adverse reaction reporting rates by vaccine type are Janssen 0.67%, Moderna 0.62%, AstraZeneca 0.61%, and Pfizer 0.44%.

The authorities classify adverse reaction cases based on the initial symptoms reported at the time of notification. As of midnight that day, the cumulative number of death reports was 461. By vaccine type, there were 268 for Pfizer, 185 for AstraZeneca, 7 for Janssen, and 1 for Moderna. Including cases where other symptoms were initially reported but worsened to severe conditions resulting in death (213 cases), the total number of deaths is 674. By vaccine type, this includes 398 for Pfizer, 265 for AstraZeneca, 9 for Janssen, and 2 for Moderna.

Suspected anaphylaxis cases total 629 (Pfizer 286, AstraZeneca 282, Janssen 45, Moderna 16). Major adverse reaction suspected cases total 5,412 (AstraZeneca 3,194, Pfizer 1,864, Janssen 277, Moderna 77). Of the total adverse reaction reports (140,855), 134,353 cases, or 95.4%, were classified as general cases with relatively mild symptoms such as muscle pain, headache, fever, and nausea after vaccination.