Although the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech resulted in the deaths of elderly people, the World Health Organizations says that it hasn’t seen any proof for the same and therefore, persuades that the shot must be taken.
The WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety made a statement on 21st January 2021 saying that the reports of deaths “are in line with the expected, all-cause mortality rates and causes of death in the sub-population of frail, elderly individuals, and the available information does not confirm a contributory role for the vaccine in the reported fatal events.” The risk-benefit ratio of taking the vaccine “remains favourable in the elderly.”
The panel assembled on 19th January 2021 to evaluate reports that some sick elders had passed away after taking the vaccine. The first few cases were reported last week in Norway which made authorities alert and saying that it could be true that vaccine side-effects trigger underlying illnesses. They anticipated few nursing home residents to die soon after being vaccinated due to their frail underlying health.
Norway attempted to calm the tensions as the Norwegian Medicines Agency with an ironic statement said that COVID-19 is more harmful to most patients than the vaccine.
Meanwhile, more than 12,400 Israelis were reporting inflicted by COVID-19 after taking Pfizer’s vaccine which led to controversy relating to the vaccine’s efficiency. This contradicts the reported 95% efficiency in Phase III of the clinical trials.
Speculation arose that the vaccine’s results may not be reflecting upon the data from experiments which could be influenced by various elements such as the experiment environment and population tested on, according to some experts.
According to reports from the media, the Israel health ministry tested 1,89,000 citizens after they had taken the Pfizer vaccine and 6.6% of the people, including the 69 who had received two shots, tested positive for Coronavirus.
Israel Coronavirus commissioner Nachman Ash, previously told media that a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine seemed to be “less effective than we had thought”, and lower than what Pfizer had displayed. Pfizer said that a single dose of its vaccine is around 52% effective, according to reports.
As all experts continue to repeat, the vaccine is not a panacea so social distancing norms, wearing a mask and sanitization must be continued. Many countries believe that the vaccine is the solution but the virus will live on if we do not adhere to basic sanitation rules.
