As Vaccination Speed Increases, Adverse Reaction Reports Rise... 11,225 Cases in Three Days

18 Deaths↑ Causality Unconfirmed
249 Additional Major Adverse Reactions

On the 24th, citizens are waiting while monitoring for adverse reactions after receiving the vaccine at the COVID-19 vaccination center set up at Mapo-gu Community Sports Center in Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] As the COVID-19 vaccination campaign gains momentum, the number of reported adverse reactions continues to steadily increase.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team (Promotion Team) on the 25th, a total of 11,255 new cases of suspected adverse reactions were reported to health authorities from the 22nd to the 24th after vaccination. The quarantine authorities plan to verify the causal relationship with vaccination through expert evaluation for suspected cases of death or severe adverse reactions.

Breaking down the new suspected adverse reaction reports by vaccine type, there were 6,429 cases for Pfizer, 3,831 for Moderna, 937 for AstraZeneca, and 58 for Janssen. By date, 1,141 cases were reported on the 22nd, 5,728 on the 23rd, and 4,386 on the 24th. There were 18 new death reports. Among them, 8 had received the Pfizer vaccine, 7 AstraZeneca, and 3 Moderna, but the causal relationship between vaccination and death has not yet been confirmed. The Promotion Team will evaluate the association through expert review.

The age distribution of the deceased was 9 in their 60s, 3 in their 80s, 2 in their 50s, and one each in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 70s. By gender, among the total 18 deaths, 10 were male and 8 female. Among the deceased, 10 are currently being investigated for underlying conditions, while the remaining 8 all had underlying conditions.

There were 35 new reports of suspected anaphylaxis, a severe systemic allergic reaction. Of these, 21 cases were after Pfizer vaccination and 14 after Moderna. Major adverse reaction cases, which include 'special interest adverse reactions,' ICU admissions, life-threatening conditions, permanent disabilities, and sequelae, totaled 249 new reports (138 Pfizer, 60 AstraZeneca, 51 Moderna). The remaining 10,953 cases were classified as general adverse reactions with symptoms such as muscle pain, headache, fever, and chills.

There were 102 new suspected adverse reaction reports related to 'heterologous vaccination' where the first dose was AstraZeneca and the second dose was Pfizer, bringing the cumulative total to 6,171. Among these 102 new cases, there were no deaths or suspected anaphylaxis cases, but 6 major adverse reactions were reported.

As the Chuseok holiday ended and new confirmed cases of COVID-19 surged daily, surpassing 3,000, medical staff are collecting samples at the Jung-gu Temporary Screening Clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza on the morning of the 25th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Since the start of vaccination in Korea on February 26, a cumulative total of 257,685 suspected adverse reaction reports have been recorded. Compared to the cumulative number of vaccinations as of midnight that day (59,322,285 doses), this represents about 0.43%. The current adverse reaction reporting rates per vaccine type are Janssen 0.58%, Moderna 0.52%, AstraZeneca 0.51%, and Pfizer 0.36%.

As of midnight, the cumulative number of death reports totaled 671. By vaccine type, there were 350 for Pfizer, 292 for AstraZeneca, 18 for Moderna, and 11 for Janssen. Including cases initially reported for other symptoms that later worsened to severe conditions resulting in death (283 cases), the total number of deaths is 954. By vaccine, this includes 506 for Pfizer, 412 for AstraZeneca, 23 for Moderna, and 13 for Janssen.

The total number of major suspected adverse reaction cases is 8,461 (4,236 AstraZeneca, 3,519 Pfizer, 415 Moderna, 291 Janssen). Of all adverse reaction reports (257,685), 247,395 cases (96.0%) were classified as general cases with relatively mild symptoms such as muscle pain, headache, fever, and nausea after vaccination.