Top virologist says vaccine type used in Thailand carries low risk of side-effects

Maya TaylorTuesday, February 23, 2021Last Updated: Tuesday, February 23, 2021

232 1 minute read

Top virologist says vaccine type used in Thailand carries low risk of side-effects | Thaiger

PHOTO: Thai Rath

A top virologist from Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University says the inactivated Covid-19 vaccines that will be in use in Thailand carry a low risk of side-effects. Yong Poovorawan says the risk of a severe reaction such as anaphylaxis, is lower with the Chinese Sinovac jab and the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Posting on his Facebook page, Yong says a US study shows that 1 month after the administration of 13.7 vaccine doses, 4.5 cases of anaphylaxis were reported in 1 million patients. No deaths from anaphylaxis were reported. However, Yong says vaccines such as the Pfizer and Moderna jabs are a newer type of vaccine and therefore have the potential to have more side-effects.

“113 deaths reported after receiving the vaccines were proven after autopsy to not be directly related to the vaccines, according to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. US uses mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which are relatively new and could have many undesirable side effects.”

Yong says that vaccines such as that developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University are virus vector vaccines, which have been studied for a long time, with a lower risk of side-effects.

“Inactivated vaccines, such as Sinovac’s, that will be used in Thailand should have even less chance of causing side effects including anaphylaxis.”

The first doses of the Chinese jab are expected to arrive in the Kingdom tomorrow, with the PM volunteering to be first to take it. Yong says Covid-19 inactivated vaccines have been developed in the same way as vaccines that have proven successful against other serious illnesses.

“They were created by the same procedures that are used to manufacture working vaccines, such as for rabies, polio and Hepatitis A. Those who are afraid of the side-effects of Covid-19 vaccine can rest assured, as vaccines that Thailand will use have the lowest chance of undesirable side effects. As many Thais as possible should get vaccinated to create a strong immunity, which would help return the outbreak situation to normal as soon as possible.”