7 people develop adverse side-effects after receiving Chinese vaccine

A doctor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University says 7 people developed temporary partial paralysis after receiving a Covid-19 jab. The 7 were all inoculated with CoronaVac, the vaccine from Chinese manufacturer, Sinovac Biotech. All were in the east of the country, with 6 in Rayong and 1 in Chon Buri.

Dr Thiravat Hemachudha says all 7 improved after they were given medication to dissolve blood clots. The side-effects were reported to the Public Health Ministry, with Thiravat saying the adverse effects might have been caused by a particular batch of vaccines, as opposed to the vaccine itself.

Meanwhile, another Chulalongkorn doctor warns that this third wave of the virus is proving highly contagious, with an increase in the number of seriously ill patients in intensive care. According to a Bangkok Post report, Dr Opass Putcharoen says that, in the first wave, the presence of the virus in a patient’s body would decline after 7 days and, even if that patient tested positive, the virus could not be cultured. In the current wave however, the virus can still be cultured after 10 days, meaning it is lingering in the body for longer.

Opass adds that a growing number of young people who test positive are developing pneumonia. He says that in the first and second wave, patients at risk of serious illness would show those symptoms around 7 days after infection. In the current wave, severe symptoms are developing much quicker, requiring a quicker diagnosis of pneumonia and the administration of appropriate treatment. He expects more severe cases to arrive in intensive care units this week.

Opass says a more widespread distribution of vaccines is vital to preventing community transmission of the highly-contagious B117 strain, also known as the UK variant. The PM has confirmed that the government is in talks with Pfizer to procure between 5 and 10 million doses of the US manufacturer’s vaccine. A panel has also been set up to consider a proposal to allow the private sector to procure vaccines from suppliers other than the government’s chosen 2 of AstraZeneca and Sinovac.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post