In early June of this year, I wrote about vaccines and the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System). At that time, the Covid-19 pandemic was making a big impact, but the vaccines were only in development. Now that the first Covid-19 vaccines have been released I thought it would be a good idea to revisit the topic.
The purpose of vaccines is to stimulate the production of antibodies. Vaccines are defined as biological preparations that provide active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease. Vaccines have been responsible for the worldwide eradication of smallpox and the restriction of diseases such as polio, measles, and tetanus from much of the world. Currently the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that there are twenty-five vaccines for different preventable infections.
Vaccine types include: inactivated, attenuated, toxoid, subunit, conjugate, heterotypic, and mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid). There are also several experimental vaccine types currently being researched. The Covid-19 vaccines are the first mRNA vaccines to be licensed for mass vaccination programs. The vaccines were licensed because they were shown to be highly effective (greater than 90%) and to cause few adverse effects in their clinical trials. However, there is interest in observing the administration of these vaccines to millions of people because even though most adverse reactions can be detected in thousands of patients in clinical trials, sometimes there are adverse reactions that are so rare they cannot be detected until many people have been exposed to the product.
The Covid-19 vaccines are of this new type, mRNA, and it is important that reports of reactions be collected. This is where the VAERS is so significant. The VAERS was established in 1990 and managed jointly by the CDC and the FDA. It is meant to be an “early warning system” for providers and researchers to identify possible unforeseen reactions or side effects of vaccinations. The VAERS is similar to the MedWatch Program that collects reports of drugs and medical devices and other products such as supplements, cosmetics, medical foods, and infant formulas. However, the VAERS only collects reports regarding vaccines.
Similar to the MedWatch Program, individual patients can report directly to the VAERS through their website https://vaers.hhs.gov/. It only takes a few minutes to complete the form online, and there is a printable PDF form that can be filled out or one can email them at info@VAERS.org or call 1-800-822-7967.
Here is a direct quote from the CDC.gov website:
“CDC and FDA encourage the public to report possible side effects (called adverse events) to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
This national system collects these data to look for adverse events that are unexpected, appear to happen more often than expected, or have unusual patterns of occurrence. Learn about the difference between a vaccine side effect and an adverse event. Reports to VAERS help CDC monitor the safety of vaccines. Safety is a top priority.”
Common side effects of the immunizations appear to be mild and should subside after a few days. Reporting to VAERS will be an important process and I encourage all who receive the vaccine to report any untoward reaction even if it is mild. It is beneficial to us all to collect as much data as possible.
Stay informed and stay healthy.
What do you think?