Are There Side Effects of 'Room Temperature Exposure Vaccines' or Not?

Influenza vaccines from Sinseong Pharmaceutical delivered to frontline hospitals.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The number of people vaccinated with influenza (flu) vaccines suspected of being exposed to room temperature has increased to over 1,300, raising concerns about side effects.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on the 1st, the number of government-procured vaccine doses currently under investigation for room temperature exposure reached 1,362 as of the 28th of last month.

According to the KDCA, as of the previous day, there have been a total of four reported cases of adverse reactions to the vaccine. No moderate or severe side effects have been observed. The cases include one instance of injection site pain, one fever, one chills and muscle pain, and one bruising at the injection site. Among these, the injection site pain case has improved.

Health authorities are currently monitoring the health status of vaccine recipients daily. Local governments are conducting monitoring for one week after vaccination via phone calls or text messages. KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyung explained, "The most concerning safety issues with vaccines are the initial allergic reactions or severe side effects that may occur after vaccination, and usually abnormal reactions such as fever or redness are reported within 2 to 3 days after vaccination."

The KDCA also plans to consider long-term follow-up measures for vaccine recipients' health. After confirming adverse reactions or reviewing the vaccine quality verification results from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, they plan to consult experts to evaluate the necessity of long-term follow-up for recipients.

Experts say that room temperature exposure itself does not cause side effects, but test results are needed to determine contamination. Former KDCA Director Jeon Byung-yul stated, "The problem is not side effects but the loss of effectiveness due to protein degradation," adding, "A saline injection itself would not cause side effects."

Professor Jeong Jin-won of Chung-Ang University’s Department of Infectious Diseases said, "Protein denaturation in the flu vaccine basically means spoilage," and added, "At this stage, since it is unknown how long the problematic vaccine was exposed to room temperature, it is not possible to accurately know what will happen in the body."

Professor Kim Woo-joo of Korea University Guro Hospital’s Department of Infectious Diseases said, "If the flu vaccine in a single-use syringe is contaminated by bacteria or external substances due to damage, side effects may occur."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.