[Breaking] Total 8,520 COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Reactions Reported... "Increase of 198 Cases"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] The number of cases reported to health authorities suspecting adverse reactions after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine has increased by about 200.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team (Promotion Team) as of midnight on the 14th, there were 198 new cases reported of adverse reactions after vaccination.

The number of death reports increased by one, totaling 16. This case involved a vaccinated person who had previously reported mild adverse reactions such as headache and fever and later died. The Promotion Team is currently investigating the causal relationship with the vaccination.

Previously, the Promotion Team stated that for 8 death cases where the first investigation was completed, "it was tentatively judged that it is difficult to recognize a causal relationship between the adverse reaction after vaccination and death." The investigation results for other reported cases will be disclosed on the 15th.

There was one additional suspected case of anaphylaxis, a severe systemic allergic reaction. This case is related to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

No new cases suspected of severe symptoms such as seizures or ICU admission were added the previous day.

The remaining 197 cases were reported with relatively mild symptoms such as headache, fever, nausea, and muscle pain.

Since vaccinations began on the 26th of last month, the cumulative number of suspected adverse reaction reports in the country has increased to 8,520. This corresponds to about 1.45% of the 587,884 people vaccinated nationwide as of midnight on this day.

When broken down by vaccine type, 8,421 cases were related to the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine, accounting for 98.8% of all reports. Reports related to the Pfizer vaccine were 99 cases (1.2%). This is interpreted as due to the higher number of AstraZeneca vaccine recipients (561,785 people) compared to Pfizer vaccine recipients (20,699 people).

The adverse reaction reporting rate relative to the number of vaccinated individuals is 1.50% for the AstraZeneca vaccine and 0.38% for the Pfizer vaccine.

Among the reported adverse reaction cases other than mild symptoms so far, there have been 74 suspected anaphylaxis cases (70 AstraZeneca, 4 Pfizer), 7 suspected severe cases such as seizures or ICU admission, and 16 death cases.

Suspected anaphylaxis cases are broadly divided into anaphylaxis, anaphylactic shock, and anaphylactoid reactions. Among the 74 cases reported so far, 73 were anaphylactoid reactions and 1 was anaphylactic shock.

Anaphylactoid reactions are cases where symptoms such as breathing difficulties or hives appear within 2 hours after vaccination. Although the symptoms resemble anaphylaxis, experts explain that these can improve with symptomatic treatment and are not considered a major problem.

Additionally, 8,423 cases, accounting for 98.9% of all adverse reaction reports, were mild cases commonly occurring after vaccination such as muscle pain, headache, fever, and nausea.

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