“It is not true that some vaccines against COVID-19 generate more adverse effects than others”

The Government announced that people over 70 years of age and who are immunosuppressed will be able to apply a second booster dose against coronavirus. However, there is still a significant gap in people who have not yet had their third dose, which is key to dealing with the dominant variants: Omicron and Delta. According to him Ministry of Healthdespite the availability of vaccines, only 43% of the target population has a booster dose.

Experts indicate that it is third inoculation It will be key to dealing with a possible fourth wave, now that students are back in the classroom after two years.

In some cases, according to testimonies collected by this newspaper, among the reasons for not applying the booster dose there is the fear of possible stronger side effects. In addition, some information circulating on the Internet also ensures that certain brands of vaccine, such as AstraZeneca, would cause powerful adverse effects when they are applied as a booster. Is it so?

“Actually, there is no difference, there is no relationship between the third dose and more side effects, they are the same as with the first. They are perceptions of the population, many times they arise from rumours”tells El Comercio the epidemiologist César Munayco, director of Public Health Surveillance of the National Center for Epidemiology, Disease Prevention and Control (CDC Peru) of the Ministry of Health (Minsa).

Although some people may have more side effects than others, there is no evidence that everyone will have adverse effects beyond the usual. “The body’s response to the vaccine is individual, some have more effects than others. But the available evidence shows no significant difference between the side effects caused by the first doses and the booster. There is pain at the application site, malaise, headache and even fever, but these are self-limited”, Munayco says.

Asked if it is true that certain brands of vaccine, such as AstraZeneca, produce more powerful effects when applied as a booster, the specialist affirms that “All vaccines are safe and only cause local symptoms, with a few very few exceptions. Nor it is true that some generate more adverse effects than others. There is information from clinical and follow-up trials that proves it.”

Very few serious side effects

In Peru, as throughout the world, serious adverse effects of vaccines have been reported, but these cases, which are usually quickly controlled, are very rare if one takes into account the millions of people who have received the injection. . In Peru, more than 68 million doses have been applied.

“These serious effects (anaphylaxis) usually occur in one per million applications. We have had 11 people with anaphylaxis, but all cases have been controlled with the tools available at vaccination centers. These people were treated immediately and the cases were controlled by medical personnel. There was no major problem. So, there are 11 cases in more than 68 million doses applied”, details the official.

Even in these cases, says Munayco, the benefits of vaccination are much greater than the possible risks, which can be addressed by health personnel. “Vaccines are safe. Severe effects are very rare and we have health personnel prepared to respond. The benefit is much greater than the minimum risk, because the vaccine prevents people from getting worse and dying from covid.”