Vaccine Side Effects 1 in 1,000

As Israel continues to outpace other countries in its coronavirus vaccination drive, a report by Kan said on Wednesday that only about 1 in 1,000 Israelis have reported experiencing side effects.

The report said 652 people have reported some side effects out of the approximately 650,000 who have gotten the shot so far since last week.

Among the symptoms were: local pain, redness and swelling at the site of injection, some weakness, dizziness and a temperature. Rare side effects included diarrhea (5 people), paresthesia (19), and allergic-like reactions such as itching or swelling in the tongue or throat (14).

Even of those who complained of side effects, only some 51 people (0.008%) sought medical attention for them.

Two deaths which followed vaccination were though not to have been caused by the vaccine, according to medical professionals involved in the cases.

An 88-year-old person died just hours after receiving the coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday, a day after a 75-year-old died of a heart attack also shortly afterwards. Both had serious preexisting medical conditions.

Pfizer, which is supplying the vaccine in Israel, had duly notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in early December that two trial participants had died after receiving the vaccine. One of the deceased was immunocompromised, meaning the person’s immune defenses were low.

Commenting on the fatalities, Israel’s Midaat Association said when vaccines are administered to at-risk populations, “there may be unfortunate cases. One should not infer from this about the safety of the vaccine, but welcome the transparency required from the pharma companies in the drug approval process.”