Most common side effects Aussies report from AstraZeneca vaccine

With reactions being reported and monitored during Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, these are the side effects you might experience.

Thousands of people who have stepped up for their vaccine have been tracked to see how they fare afterwards and the results are in.

The latest reports show those who receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, which will make up the bulk of Australia’s rollout, have a 50 per cent chance of developing mild side effects.

AusVaxSafety has been monitoring the safety of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines since Australia’s rollout started on February 22 and surveys people three days after their COVID-19 jab.

More than 57,000 people who have received their first dose have responded to the survey and 35.4 per cent have reported no adverse event.

Among the 37,011 people who reported one or more adverse events, the most common were fatigue, headache, muscle and body aches, injection site pain and chills.

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AusVaxSafety said these symptoms were known to occur after vaccination.

“They are generally mild and short-lived,” its report said.

“As with any adverse event reports, not all symptoms reported may be caused by the vaccine; they may be coincidental and due to other causes.

“These expected adverse events are related to the immune response to vaccination and are expected to resolve within 1-3 days after vaccination.”

More than 23 per cent of people vaccinated reported missing work, study or routine duties for a short period and just 1.6 per cent said they saw a doctor or went to the emergency department in the days after their jab.

AusVaxSafety has not received any reports of clotting problems, despite reports there’s a link between AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and blood clots.

Investigations are underway overseas to determine if the rare syndrome is a side effect from the AstraZeneca vaccine or just a coincidence.

The European Medicines Agency is expected to announce its findings this week.

The EMA last week recommended that countries should keep using the AstraZeneca vaccine because the benefits outweighed the risks, as nations including Italy suspended their rollout of the jab.

Dr Joe Garra is a local GP who wants to band together with other local doctors to help administer the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to the community more quickly. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Today the nation’s top health official said Australia would push ahead with its vaccine rollout despite not having the answers to the clotting issue.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) investigated one case possibly linked to the vaccine, but Health Department secretary Brendan Murphy said “one case is not a strong signal” and insisted “safety is absolutely paramount” to authorities.

A 44-year-old Melbourne man who received the jab on March 22 was found to have abdominal clots and low platelet levels on Friday

“Our regulator and ATAGI are advising that we continue with our program, that the benefit of vaccination outweighs any potential risk,” Dr Murphy told reporters in Canberra.

Dozens of cases of clotting have been reported worldwide since the vaccine was rolled out. Seven people have died from blood clot complications in the UK, as well as two in Norway and one in Denmark.

The AstraZeneca shot is Australia’s main vaccine, comprising almost all of the doses purchased by the Federal Government – 50 million of which will be produced locally by drug manufacturer CSL.

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AusVaxSafety also has separate reports for the Pfizer vaccine and data that combines reactions for both.

Overall, one in two people reported a side effect for either vaccine, among 165,209 who have responded to the survey.

The side effects reported for Pfizer are similar to the AstraZeneca responses.

Tasmania and Victoria are going to take part in the AusVaxSafety COVID-19 vaccine safety surveillance program soon, which complements the TGA’s monitoring activities.

About 855,000 people across the country have received the jab as of April 5, despite the Prime Minister predicting that four million Aussies would be vaccinated by the end of March.

Scott Morrison today said the reason for the discrepancy was because millions of doses didn’t arrive in Australia.

“3.1 million of the contracted vaccines that we had been relying upon in early January when we’d set out a series of targets did not turn up in Australia,” he said.

Mr Morrison said supply issues had been addressed overnight.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the state was “stepping up” to help fix delays in the rollout by setting up a mass vaccination hub in Sydney.

The hub will be in addition to the 100 vaccination sites that are already running across the state and will be located at Homebush.

“We anticipate that post-the 300,000 (vaccinations) that we are responsible for we will be able to do around 60,000 vaccinations a week, half will be done at Homebush and the other half across the other 100 sites across the state,” Ms Berejiklian said.

Ms Berejiklian also took a subtle swipe at the PM during the announcement, saying NSW’s ability to vaccinate people depended on a steady supply of vaccines from the Federal government.

“New South Wales doesn’t want to see further delays and that’s why we are stepping up to support the Commonwealth,” she said.

“Can I also make this really critical point, our ability to do 60,000 vaccinations a week depends on us getting the supply of the vaccine from the Commonwealth.

“At the end of the day the Commonwealth is responsible for getting the vaccine to the states. They’re responsible for making sure we have those doses to be able to give out.”