Doctors Gathered on Clubhouse to Discuss 'Vaccine Adverse Reactions' Say "Vaccination Must Continue"

On the 26th of last month, when COVID-19 vaccinations began in Korea, workers at nursing hospitals and nursing facilities were waiting in the adverse reaction observation room after receiving their vaccinations at the Dobong-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] Domestic COVID-19 experts gathered on the voice-based social networking service (SNS) 'Clubhouse' to discuss adverse reactions after vaccination and the controversial 'blood clots' reported to have occurred after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

According to the medical community on the 21st, Professor Jaegab Lee of Hallym University College of Medicine's Department of Infectious Diseases, Professor Jung-sik Eom of Gachon University College of Medicine's Department of Infectious Diseases, and Professor Jaehoon Jung of Gachon University College of Medicine's Department of Preventive Medicine held a discussion on the topic of 'COVID-19 vaccine adverse reactions' from 10 p.m. the previous day until past midnight.

Professor Jaehoon Jung stated, "The AstraZeneca vaccine is not associated with an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis, but there have been reports of increased occurrences of disseminated intravascular coagulation and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis."

Professor Jung-sik Eom also mentioned, "I observed pulmonary embolism occurring in three patients after COVID-19 infection." However, despite reports of adverse reactions following vaccination, the experts unanimously emphasized that "the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks."

The experts said that if the frequency of adverse reactions is low and proving causality is difficult, vaccination should continue while maintaining monitoring. Professor Jung explained, "COVID-19 itself often causes (thrombotic) diseases, so vaccination helps reduce these risks."

At the Clubhouse session, which included nearly 300 participants including experts, an impromptu health consultation related to vaccines was held to explain issues that the public was curious about.

When a general participant who introduced themselves as a patient with diabetes asked, "Is it okay for me to get vaccinated?" Professor Eom replied, "Diabetes is a very important underlying condition for COVID-19, so you should definitely get vaccinated," adding, "If your blood sugar control has not been too difficult recently, there should be no major problems with vaccination."

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