KAWARTHA LAKES-There have 85 documented adverse reactions to the Coronavirus vaccine within the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPR)up to May 15th, 2021 according to Public Health Ontario.
More than 66,000 doses of Coronavirus vaccine have been administered to date by HKPR. There is no local breakdown on the type of reaction but Medical Officer of Health, Dr Bocking says she isn’t aware of any deaths locally associated with the vaccine.
“I have not heard of many that have required hospital admission or emergency department assessment. There’s been a small number and to my knowledge we haven’t had any cases of Vaccine Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia.” Dr Bocking, HKPR stated.
Provincially there has been a total of 3,092 Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) reports received following 7,068,229 doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Ontario to date with a reporting rate of 43.7 per 100,000 doses administered according to data from Public Health Ontario.
This represents an increase of 408 AEFI reports compared to previous week. Of the total 3,092 AEFI reports received to date:
- Â 2,981 AEFI reports are non-serious according to the province (96.4% of total AEFI reports)
- Â 111 AEFI reports meet the serious definition (3.6% of total AEFI reports)
- Â The most commonly reported adverse events are allergic skin reactions and pain/redness/swelling at the injection site, reported in 26.3% and 25.6% of the total AEFI reports respectively
- Â 124 reports of events managed as anaphylaxis are reported, in which 11 reports also meet the serious definition
- Â 83 reports include a COVID-19 vaccine-specific adverse event of special interest, in which 40 reports also meet the serious definition
- Â 14 reports of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) after receipt of AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine, of which eleven are vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT)
Several adverse events of special interest (AESI) following administration of COVID-19 vaccine(s)were selected for surveillance. These are:
Vaccine associated enhanced disease, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and adults, acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute cardiovascular injury, coagulation disorder (including thrombotic events), thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) and vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), acute kidney injury, acute liver injury, anosmia and/or ageusia, chilblain-like lesions, single organ cutaneous vasculitis, erythema multiforme, acute pancreatitis, rhabdomyolysis, and subacute thyroiditis.
AEFI reports that meet the serious definition typically have an in-patient hospitalization or death reported.
There were 15 reports of death following receipt of COVID-19 vaccine in Ontario. Three that met the provincial surveillance definition (i.e., other severe/unusual event). One report of death occurred in a resident of a health-care institution with significant co-morbidities. However public health says the cause of death was not attributed to the vaccine. The second report of death occurred in a community dwelling senior with complex cardiovascular and renal conditions, wherein the AEFI may have contributed to but was not the underlying cause of death according to public health. The third report of death occurred in a community dwelling senior with multiple co-morbidities including heart disease and an autoimmune disorder. The cause of death was not attributed to the vaccine.
As of May 15, 2021, there are 12 additional reports of deaths temporally associated with receipt of COVID-19 vaccine that are currently classified as ‘persons under investigation’ as they do not currently meet the provincial surveillance definition according to officials. These investigations are ongoing and additional information including a cause of death (e.g., autopsy or Coroner’s report) is expected. Preliminary information suggests that these events occurred in individuals with multiple co-morbidities which may be related to the cause of death. Five of the 12 reports are in long-term care home (LTCH)/retirement home residents. There has been no association with vaccine identified at this time. Reports of death that meet the provincial case definition are events temporally associated with vaccine that have not been clearly attributed to other causes.
The provincial reporting on deaths and adverse reactions appears to have a double standard as when reporting deaths from COVID-19 none of the victims co-morbidities are taken into account and the deaths are simply attributed to the virus.
According to the data from Public health Ontario women appear to have much higher rates of adverse events. Out of the 3092 reactions, 2567, or 66.2% were in females. The majority of which were between 18 and 49 years of age.
Officials stress the vaccines are safe and reactions are rare.
Click here for more data:https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/ncov/epi/covid-19-aefi-report.pdf?la=en