Health officials said that the recent decision to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine was made with an abundance of caution.
On Sunday, Ireland suspended the use of this particular Covid-19 vaccine amid concerns over blood clots.
The EMA is currently carrying out an investigation into the vaccine after reports of rare blood-clotting events. However, AstraZeneca said that their vaccine review shows no evidence of increased blood clot risk.
Speaking this evening, Professor Karina Butler gave an insight into the potential side effects that anyone who has already received the AstraZeneca vaccine should be aware of.
"Any of these events, if they occur are probably infinitesimally rare. That's the first reassurance because as we said, there have been 19 million doses of AstraZeneca used and there have been very few of these cases reported. In terms of things to do, the main thing is to look after your health in the normal way.
"If you're unwell after the usual 48-72 hours - where you may expect to have all the normal side effects after a vaccine, like sore arms of feeling a bit fluey - but if you're unwell after that time and deteriorating, seek medical attention and go to your GP or an out of hours medical facility. If you've things like a headache, vomiting, or if you see unusual bruising on your skin. That's the type of thing that people should watch out for.
"In terms of will anything help, like aspirin, probably not. In the sense that although taking an aspirin a day is a very safe thing to do and it's effective against other types of clotting, it's apparently more effective against clotting on the arterial system and while it won't do any harm, it won't really make an impact."
Regarding the future of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Ireland, Prof Butler said that NIAC would be ready and able to act very quickly if new advice was to come from the European Medicines Agency.
They're set to meet this Thursday where further information and research on the AstraZeneca vaccine will be provided.
