24 Lakh people reported Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) for COVID vaccine as per VigiAccess data. What is the Truth?
Claim
VigiAccess was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015 to provide public access to information in VigiBase, the WHO global database of reported potential side effects of medical products. 24,57,386 people have had adverse drug reactions to the Covid vaccine in 2020-2021.
Rating
Explanation
Countries across the world are in the process of vaccinating people against the Coronavirus continuously. However, there are still voices against Covid vaccination across the world.
Meanwhile, a social media post claiming that WHO‘s VigiAccess website has revealed the people count who have had side effects of vaccines against several medical conditions in which it is reported that 24 lakh people were affected because of Covid vaccine in one year, is being circulated on social media.
It is being spread in several countries since the ADR count is higher for the Covid vaccine compared to that of the other vaccines.
What is the Truth?
WHO introduced VigiAccess in 2015 which holds the data of side effects of medicinal products.
VigiAccess website says “VigiAccess is intended as a useful starting point for people who wish to understand more about the types of potential side effects that have been reported in association with the use of medicinal products.
However, VigiAccess cannot be used to infer any confirmed link between a suspected side effect and any specific medicine”. The users are asked to mention if they have understood the terms and conditions while entering the website.
Helena Skold, Manager of VigiBase, “It is not possible to draw conclusions about the safety of a medicinal product just from looking in VigiAccess. The data is aggregated into broad categories and lacks ‘crucial details’ that are needed to understand the context of the patient. The reports in VigiBase are not vetted by us or WHO upon submission. Countries may vet their reports themselves before submitting”, told the USAToday website.
VigiBase database spokeswoman Alexandra Hoegberg “The tabulated data on adverse drug reactions (ADRs) was not generated by their system.
These figures DO NOT suggest that the Covid-19 vaccines are unsafe, nor does the comparison of different pharmaceuticals provide any information about their relative safety compared to one another.
The database has some basic information about the adverse drug reactions that have been reported, but it lacks a lot of important information and context. A side effect report does not equal a real side effect”, reported AFP Fact Check. She also has told that VigiAccess data has been misused as proof that vaccines are dangerous.
Conclusion
It is evident that VigiAccess data on ADRs against the Covid-19 vaccine are not vetted by WHO or anybody else. Moreover, the tabulated data on ADR was not generated by WHO or VigiBase.
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