Phase 2 of South Africa’s Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, aiming to vaccinate citizens over the age of 60, is under way and people are being asked to report any mild, moderate or severe adverse events experienced after receiving their jabs.
Reporting adverse events is a critical part of monitoring vaccine safety once a vaccine has been rolled out to the broader population. The timeous reporting — specifically of serious adverse events — means a specialist review or causality committee can either rule out or confirm whether there is a link to the vaccine.
Spotlight has been alerted to calls by an “independent” online organisation for people to report, on the organisation’s site, adverse events they may experience. To avoid confusion, we spoke to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and the national health department to map out the official and credible channels for reporting and to explain how to report mild, moderate or severe adverse events following immunisation.