In the preceding week till 11.59pm on September 19, the Department of Health (DH) received 115 reports (Note 1) of adverse events following COVID-19 immunisation. No death case was reported by the Hospital Authority (HA) involving individuals who had received vaccines within 14 days before they passed away and had potential association with vaccination.
As at 8pm on September 19, over 8.38 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered for members of the public. More than 4.40 million people had received at least one dose of vaccine, accounting for 65.4 per cent of the population aged 12 or above. The DH received 5 958 reports (Note 1) of adverse events (0.07 per cent of the total vaccine doses administered). Among the death cases concerning persons who had been vaccinated, including 44 cases (Note 2) with vaccination within 14 days before they passed away (0.0005 per cent of the total vaccine doses administered), none of the death cases was associated with vaccination.
As at September 19, the Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following COVID-19 Immunisation had concluded that 19 death cases had no causal relationship with vaccination, and preliminarily considered that 19 cases were not associated with vaccination. The other six cases were pending assessment. The Expert Committee considered that there is no unusual pattern identified so far, and will continue to closely monitor the relevant situation and collect data for assessment.
According to information from the HA, during the period from August 23 to September 19, the ratio of death cases out of those without a vaccination record was 105.6 cases for every 100 000 people, whereas the ratio of death cases for those with a vaccination record was 4.1 cases for every 100 000 people. The overall death rate is similar to that recorded in the past three years. Out of those without a vaccination record, the ratio of death cases with acute stroke or acute myocardial infarction was 5.8 cases for every 100 000 people, whereas the ratio of death cases under the same category for those with a vaccination record was 0.5 cases for every 100 000 people. Furthermore, the ratio of miscarriage cases out of those without a vaccination record was 38.6 cases for every 100 000 people, whereas the ratio of miscarriage cases for those who had a vaccination record was 6.8 cases for every 100 000 people. Based on the statistical analysis of the above figures, there is no evidence that vaccination increases the risk of death or miscarriage for recipients. The relevant reference statistics will be uploaded to the thematic website for the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.
The majority of non-death cases of adverse events received so far are relatively minor cases. The relevant details can be found in the "Report on the Safety Monitoring of COVID-19 Vaccines in Hong Kong" (www.drugoffice.gov.hk/eps/do/en/doc/Safety_Monitoring_of_COVID-19_Vaccines_in_Hong_Kong.pdf).
"The Comirnaty and CoronaVac vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe cases and deaths from COVID-19. They can provide protection to those vaccinated to prevent serious complications and even death after infection. We appeal again to persons who are not yet vaccinated, especially senior citizens, chronic patients and other immunocompromised persons who face a higher chance of death after COVID-19 infection, to get vaccinated as soon as possible for better self-protection before the fifth wave strikes in Hong Kong," a Government spokesman said.
Note 1: Provisional figures. In the preceding week till 11.59pm on September 19, the DH received six reports of suspected myocarditis or pericarditis involving adolescents aged 12 to 15. The six cases involved two males aged 13 and 15 respectively, two males aged 14 and two females aged 12 and 13 respectively. They experienced chest pains one to three days after receiving the Comirnaty vaccine. Their conditions are stable.
Note 2: In the preceding week till 11.59pm on September 19, the DH received one death report involving an individual who had received COVID-19 vaccination within 14 days before passing away. The case involved a male aged 84. There is no clinical evidence that the incident arose from vaccination.
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