Serious side-effects extremely rare – expert

VERY serious side-effects from the new coronavirus vaccine are “extremely rare”, one of Wales’ top doctors has confirmed.

Dr Gillian Richardson, the cochairman of the Covid-19 vaccine programme board, said the PfizerBioNTech vaccine set to be rolled out across Wales is safe for use among the general population.

It was announced yesterday that the first people could receive the first of two vaccines “within a matter of days” following approval by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The jab is said to offer up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness and will be given to frontline NHS and social care workers and over80s first.

However, there are likely to be logistical issues giving it to people in care home settings due to the fact it needs to be stored at a temperature of around -70C.

“As with any vaccine there are potential side-effects. Usually they are a sore arm and occasionally a raised temperature, but very serious side-effects are extremely rare,” said Dr Richardson during the Welsh Government’s press conference yesterday.

“And we know from the studies with the Pfizer vaccine that there are really good safety profiles, including for the elderly and for those who have clinical conditions.

“So we are extremely pleased to be offering what we feel is a very safe vaccine to the population.”

Wales’ chief medical officer, Dr Frank Atherton said latest findings from a fortnightly Public Health Wales survey showed 70% of people would want to be vaccinated against coronavirus, while 60% would also want their children to be vaccinated.