KOTA BARU – Only eight reports of adverse events following immunisation (Aefi) reports have been received since the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) began on February 3, with all cases experiencing mild side effects including swelling at the injection site after receiving the vaccine.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali said the number represented only 0.006% of the total 246,868 children aged 5 to 11 who had been given the Covid-19 vaccine shot as of yesterday.
“When an Aefi case is reported to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA), we will make a note. In fact, we have already informed you that should there be any side effects related to the Covid-19 vaccine, recipients can make a report,” he told reporters after visiting the special vaccination centre at Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital here today.
Also present was Kelantan Health Department director Datuk Dr Zaini Hussin.
Dr Noor Azmi, who is also Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force for Children chairman, said the vaccination rate through PICKids nationwide so far was still low at about 7%.
Melaka recorded the highest percentage of vaccinations with 16.1%, followed by Sarawak at 13.99%, while Kelantan was among the lowest at 1.18%.
According to Dr Noor Azmi, some 3.6 million children, including 2.7 million schoolchildren, have been targeted to receive the vaccine.
He said up to last year, 278,000 children and teenagers below 17 were infected with Covid-19 and of the total, 63 were reported to have died.
Meanwhile in Putrajaya, NPRA director Dr Roshayati Mohamad Sani said 93% of Aefis for Covid-19 reported were not serious.
She said the NPRA reporting system had received a total of 24,990 Aefi reports including 1,104 reports relating to Covid-19 vaccine booster doses and eight reports involving vaccine recipients aged 5 to 12.
“Of the total, 1,747 reports were categorised as serious Aefi, equivalent to a rate of 27 per one million doses administered,” she said in a statement today on Aefis as of February 11, 2022.
Dr Roshayati said fever, pain at the injection site, headache, muscle aches and fatigue were among the most common adverse effects reported by vaccine recipients and the effects would usually improve within a day or two.
She said vaccine recipients who experienced any serious adverse or prolonged effects should immediately refer to any health facility for treatment and for further investigations to be conducted.
“Serious adverse effects require hospitalisation, longer stays in wards, and are life-threatening or suspected to cause death,” she said.
In the meantime, Dr Roshayati said NPRA was also monitoring identified safety risks of Covid-19 vaccine or adverse events of special interest among vaccine recipients in Malaysia following global concern on Covid-19 vaccine safety.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme from February 24, 2021 until last February 11, saw the administration of 64,697,715 Covid-19 vaccine doses involving the brands Comirnaty (Pfizer), CoronaVac (Sinovac), AstraZeneca (AZ), Convidecia (CanSino), and Covilo (Sinopharm).
The National Covid-19 Booster Vaccination Programme kicked off on October 13, 2021, and a total of 13,000,984 booster doses have been dispensed as of February 11.
A total of 79,393 vaccine doses have been administered to children aged 5 to below 12 years under PICKids as of February 11. – Bernama, February 16, 2022
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