KUALA LUMPUR – A total of 896 of 24,286 reports received on cases of adverse events following immunisation (Aefi), up to January 15, are related to Covid-19 booster shots, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said.
He said of the 896 cases, 42 involved severe side effects while the rest experienced minimal side effects.
He said 9.2 million booster shots have been administered up to January 15.
On reports of myocarditis in children, he said only one to three cases per 100,000 children were affected by myocarditis as a result of vaccination, but added that the rate could be 36 times higher if they were not vaccinated.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said each Aefi case goes through a detailed process to enable the Health Ministry to conduct investigations, including post-mortems and clinical views, before confirming whether it is due to vaccines or otherwise.
Asked about the public’s concern over booster shots, which have been linked to several deaths made viral on social media, Khairy said the ministry will be releasing all Aefi data related to booster doses.
While saying that most of the viral news had nothing to do with vaccination, he said the Health Ministry would conduct thorough investigations, especially cases involving deaths. – Bernama, January 20, 2022
