Japan records high rate of reactions to Pfizer vaccine
TOKYO: Japan has reported a higher rate of severe reactions to Pfizer Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine compared with the United States and European nations.
The minister in charge of vaccinations said 25 cases of anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction, have been reported as of Wednesday.
The figure of severe reactions rate compares with five cases in every one million doses administered in the US and 20 cases per million in Britain.
Japan has inoculated 140,000 healthcare workers so far and the severe reaction rate could rise as more people receive shots.
“It’s true, this seems to be more than in the US and Europe,” Taro Kono told a parliamentary committee, according to a report in Kyodo News.
Of those who suffered anaphylaxis, 24 are women.
Japan plans to vaccinate 4.8 million healthcare workers nationwide before expanding it to people aged 65 or older.
People with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and those working at elderly care facilities are next in line to receive the shots.
Those who take Pfizer’s Covid19 vaccine are being asked to remain on site for at least 15 minutes to check for anaphylaxis and other side effects.
According to the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, the severe reactions were experienced within five to 30 minutes of receiving the jab and symptoms included sore throat, hives and difficulty in breathing.
All of them recovered after receiving treatment.
Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said the ministry would review the matter and see whether the symptoms reported in Japan were as serious as those abroad.
Pfizer has said clinical trials showed its vaccine to be 95 per cent effective in preventing symptoms of Covid-19, and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has called the inoculations as the “decisive factor” in bringing the pandemic under control.
However, according to a poll by Kyodo News, only 63.1 per cent of respondents said they wanted to be vaccinated, with 27.4 per cent saying they did not, apparently due to concerns over side effects.
The number of Covid-19 cases in Japan has been falling since Suga declared a state of emergency in the Tokyo metropolitan area and other regions in January.
But the decline has bottomed out in recent weeks and the emergency declaration was extended until March 21 here amid lingering worries on hospitals’ ability to deal with the pandemic and also the spread of more infectious variants of the virus.
Shigeru Omi, head of the government’s Covid-19 subcommittee, said the variants, first discovered in Britain, South Africa and Brazil, would also become the dominant strain in Japan “sooner or later”.
“There is no question that the process to replace the existing strain has already begun,” he told a parliamentary committee, stressing the need to step up efforts to monitor their spread.