AstraZeneca vaccine in the limelight… The French drug regulatory agency (ANSM) announced this Thursday February 11 that in the 10,000 health workers vaccinated, 149 of them have developed side effects – mild but harsh – including cephalgia, sore muscles, high fever and flu state. “149 pharmacovigilance reports have been made between February 6 and 10 in the morning naming influenza-like syndromes, often strong (high fever, sore muscles, cephalgia)”, the agency explains. It goes on “most cases have been reported in health workers aged around 34. These adverse effects are knowns and described in the vaccines”.
For some, these adverse effects led to sick leave – as reported by La Presse de la Manche. In Saint-Lô hospital, the vaccination campaign stopped in order to change health workers’ schedules and prevents units without staff. Le Figaro also says that the ANSM now urges hospital to “gradually vaccinate staff of a same service” to prevent complications in their work. Please also note that France is the only country in Europe – among those using the same share – to have noticed this intensity in side effects.
The ANSM also made the most of the occasion to address Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine side effects. All in all, 2,140 cases have been reported and assessed enabling to deliver guidance on the use. The agency noticed in the vaccine “increase of the blood pressure” and specifically recommends to “check blood pressure to be clinically taken in charge as soon as possible if need be”. As for Moderna Therapeutics vaccine, only 40 cases of side effects have been reported and none of them was worrying.
