Vaccine serious side effects very rare, Health Ministry study reveals

Only 153 people (0.0032%) out of more than 4.7 million who received a first shot of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine had any kind of serious side effects, according to a report published by the Health Ministry.

Only 162 had serious side effects from the second dose out of 3.4 million.

The types of serious issues that people experienced ranged from blurred vision, inflammation of the pulmonary pleura (that allow optimal expansion and contraction of the lung during breathing), inflammation of the heart, heart attack or even liver damage.

Some 62 people were hospitalized after receiving their first dose; 75% of them had underlying medical conditions before getting the jab.

Forty-two people were hospitalized after the second shot.

Some 487 (first) and 250 (second) had neurological issues after getting inoculated: 474 people who experienced paresthesia (tingling, pricking, chilling, burning, numbness of the skin), 73 who had Bell’s palsy (facial paralysis), 23 convulsions, 28 metal taste in the mouth, 14 loss of consciousness, five transient cerebral ischemia (temporary stroke) and 59 others who had unidentified neurological issues.

In total, 9,595 people reported side effects from the vaccines out of 4,755,585 people who received the first dose, and another 8,743 out of 3,408,825 who received the second dose.

The majority of complaints were among younger people (20-49) and women.

The report was updated as of March 1.

The majority of side effects are not severe but rather mild and most often near the site of the jab. Some 4,256 (first) and 2,092 (second) had pain or other reactions at the site of the shot.

Some 4,436 people (first) and 6,122 expressed general symptoms, such as fever or achiness.

Around 220 (first) and 101 (second) had an allergic reaction, possibly even anaphylactic shock - 4 cases after the first shot and three after the second. More common was tingling, swelling of the upper respiratory tract and itching.

The rate of reports of mild side effects that appear in close proximity to the vaccine is lower than that observed in clinical trials. However, the Health Ministry said that it is likely that there was some under-reporting by the public, especially people who did not require any medical intervention.

More than 4.9 million Israelis have had at least one shot of the Pfizer vaccine and another 3.6 million the second shot.

The Health Ministry provided a breakdown of vaccination by age. The following percentages of people by age have had their second shot and are considered fully vaccinated: 90+ - 82.1%; 80-89 - 81.4%; 70-79 - 84.6%; 60-69 - 72%; 50-59 - 58.3%; 40-49 - 43.1% ; 30-39 - 22.6%; 20-29 - 17.3%; Under 19 - 1.9%.

Guards protecting a Jewish school in Marseille overpowered a man wielding a knife whom they suspected intended to stab patrons at a nearby kosher store and bakery.

The incident, Friday, happened in the city’s 13th district, opposite the Yavne Jewish school, the newspaper La Provence reported. Police took the suspect into custody after the security guards charged at and immobilized him, taking away the weapon.

The man arrived at the bakery, Cache Food, in a black car that a forensic team is scanning, reported La Provence, which said the man appeared to be in his sixties and was wearing a towel on his head during the incident. Police suspect he was intending to carry out a terrorist attack against Jewish individuals.

In 2015, a jihadist terrorist killed four Jews at a kosher food store in Paris two days after the mass shooting at the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper on January 7. The perpetrators of both incidents, who planned the attacks together, were killed by police, but 10 of their accomplices were convicted last year of various degrees of complicity.

In 2012, a jihadist killed three Jewish children and a rabbi at a Jewish school in Toulouse.(JTA)