Top doctor says side effects of new Pfizer vaccine are extremely rare

pVery serious side effects from the new coronavirus vaccine are quot;extremely rarequot;, one of Walesapos; top doctors has confirmed./p p Dr Gillian Richardson, the co-chair of the Covid-19 vaccine programme board, said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine set to be a href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/coronavirus-wales-vaccination-live-vaccine-19382698 rel=Follow target=_self data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link data-content-type=live-eventrolled out across Wales/a is safe for use among the general population. /p pIt was announced on Wednesday that the first people could receive the first of two vaccines quot;within a matter of daysquot; following approval by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)./p p The jab is said to offer up to a href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/coronavirus-covid-vaccine-rollout-doctors-19382944 rel=Follow target=_self data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link data-content-type=news95% protection against Covid-19/a illness and will be given to frontline NHS and social care workers and over-80s first. /p pHowever, there are likely to be logistical issues giving it to people in care home settings due to the fact it needs to be stored at a temperature of around -70C./p pquot;As with any vaccine there are potential side-effects. Usually they are a sore arm and occasionally a raised temperature, but very serious side effects are extremely rare,quot; said Dr Richardson during the Welsh Governmentapos;s press conference on Wednesday./p pquot;And we know from the studies with the Pfizer vaccine that there are really good safety profiles, including for the elderly and for those who have clinical conditions./p pquot;So we are extremely pleased to be offering what we feel is a very safe vaccine to the Welsh population.quot;/p p Walesapos; chief medical officer Dr Frank Atherton, also speaking during the press conference, said latest findings from a fortnightly Public Health Wales i/ survey showed 70% of people would want to be vaccinated against coronavirus if a vaccine was available, while 60% would also want their children to be vaccinated. /p p quot;The many clinical trial phases a vaccine must go through before it can be used in the general population are designed to test its safety and efficacy,quot; he said. u/ /p p u/ quot;All three vaccines, which have reported phase three results following large-scale trials, have reported positive safety data and efficacy.quot; /p pEveryone over 50 will be offered the vaccine over the coming months, but the Welsh Government has stressed it will not be mandatory./p pTen priority groups, which represent 60% of the population and 99% of all deaths linked to Covid-19, will be given it first./p pThis is the current order:/p ul liOlder residents in care homes and care home workers;/li liAll those 80 years and over and health and social care workers;/li liAll those 75 years and over;/li liThose 70 and over, and clinically extremely vulnerable people - including those with cancer and kidney disease;/li liAll aged 65 and over;/li liAll individuals aged 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality;/li liAll those 60 years and over;/li liAll those 55 years and over;/li liAll those 50 years and over;/li liThe 40% remainder of the population, with order of priority to be determined./li /ul p bFind out how many cases are in your area/b /p pDr Atherton added: quot;The main aim of vaccination will be to protect those who are most vulnerable and to prevent people from developing a severe illness if they are exposed to the virus./p pquot;We hope it will also reduce community transmission./p pquot;We#x2019;ve learned a lot about the virus over this year #x2013; we know that immunity doesn#x2019;t seem to last forever and that some people who have had Covid may become re-infected./p pquot;We may need to think about the vaccine in the same way as we think about the flu jab #x2013; as something we need to have every year to give us protection.quot;/p