Chinese COVID-19 vaccine is safe — Health Attaché
By Alusine Sesay
The Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, Sinopharm is safe, and more than 1 billion doses have been administered in and out of China with no single reported death directly associated with the Chinese vaccine, the Health Attaché of the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone said in a statement on Friday.
The statement came following baseless reports about Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine published by the News Time Africa and the Standard Times Newspaper on June 24 and June 25, 2021, respectively, titled: “Hard working midwife dies in Sierra Leone after taking Chinese –Manufactured Covid-19 Vaccine”, and “How Nurse Eleanor Died After COVID-19 Vaccine,” respectively.
The two reports linked the unfortunate passing away of a midwife in Sierra Leone with the administration of Chinese manufactured Covid-19 vaccine with no proven scientific evidence, and made provocative slanders at the efficacy of the Chinese vaccine. “This is totally misleading and unacceptable,” the Health Attaché said in the statement.
The Health Attaché said the real intention is to tarnish the image of Chinese vaccine and undermine the relevant cooperation between China and Africa.
According to the statement, the incidence of severe reactions among people is 0.07 out of 100,000 doses, which means the Chinese vaccine is very safe.
The WHO has also listed the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
The press release issued by Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation on June 24, 2021 stated clearly that the deceased had chronic disease and no relationship has been established between the death and the vaccination so far.
The Ministry of Health said it is conducting further investigation to determine whether the incident is related to the administration of COVID-19 vaccine.
In the interim, the Ministry of Health said that preliminary investigation established that the deceased was a known chronic asthmatic on medication. She experienced asthmatic attacks especially on exposed to cold weather which was usually relieved by medication (inhaler) at home, the Health Ministry said in the statement it put out on Wednesday.
“On Monday June 21, 2021, the healthcare worker, felt normal and without any coercion or persuasion voluntarily received her first dose of civid-19 vaccine at exactly 8:57a.m. She worked throughout the day with no reported concerns,” it said in the statement.
“On Tuesday June 22, 2021, the healthcare worker went through her normal work routine without reporting any health-related concerns. That evening, she returned home and ate dinner. During dinner at about 5:30pm she reported chest heaviness, pain and cough. As usual, she was given her inhaler but the condition worsened. The family decided to take her to hospital. However, she died at 6:30pm before reaching the hospital.”
The Ministry of Health said that it has systematically investigated all incidents suspected to relate to the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine brought to its attention. “Available data shows that these vaccines are safe and effective. Since the introduction of the vaccine in Sierra Leone in March 15, over 105,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across the Country, with no incident associated with the administration of the vaccine,” The Health Ministry said.
Faced with the Covid-19 pandemic, Africa is in dire need of vaccines. China is the first major Country to respond swiftly to the request of African countries and has donated several rounds of vaccine to Africa.
