9349 Vaccine Adverse Reactions Over Three Days... 17 Deaths, Causality Unconfirmed (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As the number of COVID-19 vaccine recipients increases, reports of adverse reactions have also risen by about 9,000 over the past three days.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team (Promotion Team) on the 28th, a total of 9,349 new cases of suspected adverse reactions were reported to health authorities from the 25th to the 27th after vaccination. By vaccine type, adverse reaction reports were 4,593 for Pfizer, 2,522 for AstraZeneca (AZ), 2,201 for Janssen, and 33 for Moderna. Daily reports were 2,678 on the 25th, 3,093 on the 26th, and 3,578 on the 27th.

There were 17 new death reports. Among the deceased, those in their 60s were the most with 8 people, followed by 3 in their 70s, and 2 each in their 30s, 50s, and 80s. Of the deceased, 14 were male and 3 were female. Both of the two deceased in their 30s were male, and one of them was confirmed to have no underlying conditions. Among the 17 deceased, 7 had underlying conditions, and for the remaining 9 except for one in their 30s, the presence of underlying conditions is still being investigated. The time from vaccination to death varied from the day of vaccination to about 73 days later. Among the deceased, 11 had received AstraZeneca, 4 Pfizer, 1 Moderna, and 1 Janssen vaccines respectively. The causal relationship between vaccination and death has not yet been confirmed. The Promotion Team plans to evaluate the relevance to vaccination after expert review.

Reports of suspected anaphylaxis, a severe systemic allergic reaction, increased by 56 cases. Among these, 52 were Pfizer, 3 AstraZeneca, and 1 Janssen vaccine recipients. Major adverse reaction cases, including 'special interest' adverse reactions, ICU admissions, life-threatening conditions, permanent disabilities, and sequelae, totaled 277 cases (143 Pfizer, 102 AstraZeneca, 30 Janssen, 2 Moderna). The rest were cases reporting common post-vaccination symptoms such as injection site redness, pain, swelling, muscle pain, and headache.

Reports of suspected adverse reactions related to 'heterologous vaccination,' where the first dose was AstraZeneca and the second dose was Pfizer, increased by 397 cases, bringing the cumulative total to 4,244. Among the 397 new cases, there was 1 death, 2 suspected anaphylaxis cases, and 10 major adverse reactions. Heterologous vaccination adverse reactions are counted as duplicates 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 169,124. Compared to the cumulative number of vaccinations as of midnight that day (41,521,012 doses), this represents about 0.41%. The current adverse reaction reporting rates by vaccine type are 0.66% for Moderna, 0.50% for AstraZeneca, 0.49% for Janssen, and 0.31% for Pfizer. The authorities classify adverse reaction cases based on the initial symptoms reported at the time of notification.

As of midnight on the same day, the cumulative number of death reports totaled 519. By vaccine type, there were 285 for Pfizer, 222 for AstraZeneca, 9 for Moderna, and 3 for Janssen. Including cases where other symptoms were initially reported but worsened to severe conditions resulting in death (237 cases), the total number of deaths is 756. By vaccine type, this includes 423 for Pfizer, 317 for AstraZeneca, 11 for Janssen, and 5 for Moderna. Major suspected adverse reaction cases total 6,215 (3,487 AstraZeneca, 2,277 Pfizer, 282 Moderna, 169 Janssen). Of all adverse reaction reports (169,124), 161,604 cases, or 95.6%, were classified as general cases with relatively mild symptoms such as muscle pain, headache, fever, and nausea after vaccination.

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