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Mar 17, 2022 · The nine pages of “adverse events of special interest” are not confirmed side effects from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more ...
Mar 11, 2022 · Campbell’s video claiming that Pfizer’s document showed “1,223 [vaccine-]associated deaths” received more than 760,000 views and 24,000 engagements on Facebook. But these claims are misleading. As this review explains below, the cited document doesn’t show known side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
- Overview
- What You Need to Know
- Anaphylaxis after COVID-19 Vaccination
- Reports of Deaths after COVID-19 Vaccination
- Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) after COVID-19 Vaccination
- Myocarditis and Pericarditis after COVID-19 Vaccination
- Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) after COVID-19 Vaccination
- Related Pages
Updated Sept. 12, 2023
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Some people have no side effects. Many people have reported side effects—such as headache, fatigue, and soreness at the injection site—that are generally mild to moderate and go away within a few days.
Are the Vaccines Safe?
•The benefits of COVID-19 vaccination continue to outweigh any potential risks.
•Severe reactions after COVID-19 vaccination are rare.
•CDC recommends everyone ages 6 months and older get vaccinated to protect against COVID-19 and its potentially severe complications.
•Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring program in U.S. history.
Anaphylaxis after COVID-19 vaccination is rare. It has occurred at a rate of approximately 5 cases per one million vaccine doses administered. Anaphylaxis, a severe type of allergic reaction, can occur after any kind of vaccination. If it happens, healthcare providers can effectively and immediately treat the reaction. Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.
CDC scientists have conducted detailed reviews of cases of anaphylaxis and made the information available to healthcare providers and the public.
Multiple factors contribute to reports of death after COVID-19 vaccination, including heightened public awareness of COVID-19 vaccines, requirements under FDA authorization for COVID-19 vaccines that healthcare providers report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS (even if it is unclear whether the vaccine was the cause), and reporting requirements in CDC vaccine provider agreements. People receiving COVID-19 vaccines are less likely to die from COVID-19 and its complications and are at no greater risk of death from non-COVID causes, than unvaccinated people.
CDC scientists and partners have performed detailed assessments of deaths after COVID-19 vaccination and made the information available to healthcare providers and the public.
GBS is a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system damages nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. GBS has largely been observed among people ages 50 years and older.
Based on an analysis of data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), the rate of GBS within the first 21 days following J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccination was found to be 21 times higher than after Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccination. After the first 42 days, the rate of GBS was 11 times higher following J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccination. The analysis found no increased risk of GBS after Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccination.
Similarly, CDC found higher than expected rates of GBS reported to VAERS after J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccination but not after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. These observations contributed to the preferential recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to use mRNA COVID-19 vaccines over the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, which is no longer available in the United States.
CDC and FDA will continue to monitor for and evaluate reports of GBS occurring after COVID-19 vaccination and will share more information as it becomes available.
Myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination are rare. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis is inflammation of the outer lining of the heart. Most patients with myocarditis or pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination responded well to medicine and rest and felt better quickly, and most cases have been reported after receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
To date, evidence indicates that the benefits of mRNA COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the risk of myocarditis. CDC and FDA will continue to monitor for and evaluate reports of myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination. Learn more about myocarditis and pericarditis, including clinical considerations, after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.
Data from VSD and from VAERS indicate that rates of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination are highest among males in their late teens and early 20s, usually following the second dose of the vaccine.
CDC scientists have conducted detailed reviews of cases of myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccines and have made the information available to healthcare providers and the public.
Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) has been rarely observed after J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccination and has occurred in approximately 4 cases per one million doses administered. TTS is a rare but serious adverse event that causes blood clots in large blood vessels and low platelets (blood cells that help form clots).
A review of reports indicates a causal relationship between the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine and TTS. This observation contributed to the preferential recommendation by ACIP to use mRNA COVID-19 vaccines over the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, which is no longer available in the United States.
•Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines
•Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS): What Reports Mean and How VAERS Works
•COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Publications
Last Updated Sept. 12, 2023
Feb 27, 2024 · As we’ve said, Hviid calculated the rate of this side effect — if ultimately shown to be related to vaccination — to be 1 in 1.75 million following the first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
Mar 1, 2022 · The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective for both children and adults. See the sources for this fact-check. Misinterpretations of ...
Mar 18, 2022 · A flurry of articles and videos online are now misinterpreting a Pfizer document released by the FDA as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. The posts incorrectly claim that it shows the ...
Mar 23, 2022 · A newly published document lists side effects from Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. This is not true. The document lists adverse events reported after vaccination, which may not have been caused by the vaccine. It also says these adverse events raise no safety concerns. Several widely shared and viewed posts on Facebook and Instagram have falsely ...
