KAWARTHA LAKES-Health Canada (HC), the Public Health Agency of Canada, provincial and territorial public health authorities say they are monitoring the incidence of adverse reactions to the Covid vaccine experienced by women. (AEFI’s)
There have been 10,167 adverse events following immunization reported in Canada to Date, although it’s not clear if all provinces and territories are reporting. 2,441 were what health officials classify as serious. However, it appears from the stats that serious events are increasing. This past week there were more serious events reported than non-serious. There were 138 new non-serious cases and 151 serious reported the week of July 9-16th.
Health Canada says the majority of adverse event reports were from females (77.4%) and the rate of reports for females was 34.1 per 100,000 doses administered, compared to 11.1 per 100,000 doses administered for males.
“It is unclear if this is due in part to healthcare-seeking behaviour (e.g. reporting adverse events) or biological differences between females and males,” states Health Canada on its website. “Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, provincial and territorial public health authorities will continue to monitor but have not identified this as a safety issue.”
However, the higher proportion and rate of females reporting adverse events has been observed in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries. It’s unclear what adverse events are being reported by women but anecdotally there have been a number of women complaining of problems with their menstrual cycle following immunization.
The highest number of adverse events occurs in the 40-59 age range.
Up to and including July 16, 2021, there were 67 cases of TTS in Canada (male and female)with reports submitted to PHAC or to Health Canada. That’s up from 59 last week.
Of the TTS cases:
- 56 cases received COVISHIELD/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, nine received a Pfizer vaccine, and two received a Moderna vaccine.
Up to and including July 16, 2021, there were 211 cases of myocarditis/pericarditis with reports submitted to PHAC or Health Canada. That’s up from 163 the week before.
Of the myocarditis/pericarditis cases:
132 cases received Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, 66 cases received Moderna vaccine, 12 cases received COVISHIELD/AstraZeneca vaccines, and the vaccine name of one was unspecified.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Health Canada are monitoring Canadian and international reports (World Health Organization, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European Medicines Agency, Israel) of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining around the heart) following vaccination with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
Data in Canada is now indicating a slightly higher number of cases in young males than would normally be expected in the general population. Health Canada recently updated the product monographs for both Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to include information around these risks.
Up to and including July 16, 2021, there are a total of 48 reports of GBS in Canada. Of the GBS cases:
- 25 cases received COVISHIELD/AstraZeneca vaccines (0.91 reports per 100,000 doses administered), 18 cases received Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (0.56 reports per 100,000 doses administered), and 5 cases received Moderna vaccine (0.05 reports per 100,000 doses administered.
PHAC and Health Canada have been actively monitoring reports of Guillain-Barré Syndrome(GBS) in Canada following AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination and have observed a higher number of cases than would normally be expected in the general population. Health Canada says it is continuing its review and is working closely with the manufacturers and international regulators to review information as it becomes available and will take appropriate action.
Up to and including July 16, 2021, a total of 152 deaths were reported after the administration of a vaccine. Following medical case review using the WHO-UMC causality assessment categories, it has been determined that:
- 33 are still under investigation according to HC
- 61 of these deaths are unlikely linked to a COVID-19 vaccine according to HC
- 52 deaths could not be assessed due to insufficient information according to HC
- 6 deaths followed a diagnosis of TTS
There have been 202 reports of pulmonary embolism, 134 deep vein thrombosis, 126 blood clots, 281 bell’s palsy, 102 strokes, 8 spontaneous abortions and 4 fetal growth restriction.
Health Canada admits there is an underreporting of AEFI’s.
“There may be delays in receiving reporting forms and processing reporting forms which may contribute to variations in the amount of reports presented weekly. These delays may be due to jurisdictions investigating and reviewing each adverse event prior to submitting the information to PHAC. There are also limitations to reporting practices such as underreporting, missing information, and differing adverse event reporting practices across jurisdictions in Canada.” states the website.
There have been almost 45 million vaccines administered in Canada to date.
All of the stats in this article come from Health Canada and can be found here:https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccine-safety/
