LANKA CANCELS IMRAN ADDRESS TO PARLIAMENT
Scientists continue monitoring as shots roll out around the world
Colombo/Islamabad, Feb. 18: Sri Lanka has cancelled Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's planned address to its Parliament during his upcoming visit to Colombo, according to media reports. Sergeant-at-Arms of Parliament, Narendra Fernando said he has informed Parliament that the Pakistan Prime Minister's visit to Sri Lanka will go ahead as scheduled, the Colombo Gazette website reported on Wednesday. However, the Foreign Ministry had informed Parliament officials that his proposed visit to the Parliament complex will not take place.
Pakistan Prime Minister Khan will arrive in Sri Lanka on February 22 on a two-day official state visit. Khan, who will be the first head of state to visit the country since the Covid-19 pandemic, is to hold talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena during the visit. It is said that the speech to Parliament had been included in Khan's itinerary at the Pakistan government's request.
Washington, Feb. 18: How do we know the Covid-19 vaccines are safe? Scientists look for safety issues during the testing phase and continue their monitoring as shots roll out around the world. So far, the only serious warning to emerge is a rare risk of severe allergic reactions.
Different types of Covid19 vaccines have been authorised and it's possible side effects will differ for each — although there's more public data on the vaccines being rolled out in Western countries than elsewhere. Countries also vary in their vaccine standards, with some allowing the use of shots before final-stage testing involving large numbers of volunteers. But in the US, Britain and European Union, regulators required any vaccine to be tested in tens of thousands of people before distribution.
So far, the US is using shots from Pfizer and Moderna, while Britain and Europe have cleared those plus the AstraZeneca vaccine. Those companies' large studies found that common side effects were minor and typical of the immune system revving up: Soreness in the arm, fever and flu-like symptoms including fatigue, chills and headache. But since extremely rare problems might not turn up even in large tests, the vaccines still are being monitored. The US and British governments and the European Medicines Agency track reports filed by health workers and the public about suspected side effects.
Extra scrutiny in the US includes tracking insurance claims for red flags. And US vaccine recipients can sign up for a program that sends text messages to see if they're feeling side effects. Those checks are proving reassuring. People are supposed to wait around for a short time after vaccination in case they have a severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis.
Such incidents so far have been rare, with between 2 and 5 anaphylaxis reports for every million vaccine doses in the first weeks of US inoculations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials expected to receive reports of health problems, even deaths, that occur just by chance in the days or weeks after vaccination, given the huge numbers of people, including the frail elderly, getting inoculated.
Deaths and other serious events are investigated to see if the vaccine played a role.