Officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are aware of reports of long-term problems after vaccination against COVID-19, an official recently revealed.
"In terms of reports of people experiencing debilitating illnesses, we are aware of these reports of people experiencing long-term health problems after being vaccinated against COVID," Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, director of the CDC's Office of Vaccine Safety, said on Jan. 26 .
"In some cases, the clinical picture of people suffering from these health problems is varied and no specific medical cause for the symptoms has been found," Shimabukuro added. “We understand that illness is distressing and stressful, especially under these circumstances. And we recognize that these health problems have significantly affected people's quality of life and have also affected those around them. And we're hopeful for improvement and recovery, and we'll continue to monitor the safety of these vaccines and work with our partners to try to better understand these types of adverse events."
Shimabukuro spoke during a January 26 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) meeting to discuss the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Haley Gans, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University Medical Center, had asked how federal authorities track problems that occur after vaccination and may not be "amenable" to rapid cycle analysis or a way to monitor vaccine safety.
Shimabukuro noted that anyone, including health care workers, can submit adverse event reports to the CDC-administered Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), “and we accept all such reports without judgment clinical severity or how plausible the adverse event may be in relation to causality.' Other systems also monitor security beyond rapid analysis, he added.
"We take vaccine safety very seriously," Shimabukuro said.
Shimabukuro's comments are unusual among federal officials, who have been reluctant to link adverse events to COVID-19 vaccines.
Brianne Dressen, who was injured by AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, said the response was welcome but questioned whether it was enough.
“This was an unprecedented move but it was also a carefully worded response. Instead of a little whisper in a meeting of FDA, this really needs to be shared with the medical community,” Dressen, co-founder of the React19 support group, said in an email. "We've been told these words privately, so it's good that they're finally leaning in the right direction to start the conversation publicly, but is it too late?"
