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Published Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Headaches among the covid-19
vaccine side effects, experts say
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Headaches, pain at the injection area, moderate fever, body aches, chills, tiredness and skin rash are the most frequent side effects experienced after getting the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to the Ministry of Health.
As of Jan. 29, the National Center for Pharmacovigilance reported that 356 people presenting side effects were immediately attended, of these 272 women and 84 men.
"The adverse reactions presented so far are within the expected reactions, these are reactions that can even happen with other vaccines," Xiomara Vega, from the Ministry of Health said.
Three patients developed serious allergic reactions which required medical attention. They were immediately treated.
The health authorities call on the public to inform health workers if they suffer from any type of allergy before receiving treatment against covid-19. This will allow them to get the corresponding medical support if needed.
The most recent Social Security report, from Dec. 2020 to Jan. 29, reported 11,838 people have already received the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech treatment.
Of the total number of vaccines already imported, 57,701 doses have been applied. Reaching a national vaccination rate of 1.12 per 100 inhabitants.
Of these 48,833 first responders and 8,868 workers and residents of nursing homes were vaccinated.
Social Security continues with the plan to extract six doses from each bottle carrying the vaccine, following the guidelines provided by Pfizer, until more doses arrive in the country.
While the vaccination campaign advances, authorities from the Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday the most updated status of the covid-19 public health crisis in the country:
• 440 new covid-19 cases are reported, bringing the total to 38,141 current active cases.
• 24,145 foreign-born people have been infected, totaling 195,009 cases since March, approximately 12.3% of the total cases. Of these, authorities confirmed the death of 32 foreign-born patients. But since October, there is no updated information about foreign-born deaths due to covid-19.
• 426 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 179 patients are in ICU’s in delicate health conditions. Their ages range from 1 to 92-years-old. And 247 patients are in recovery rooms. Many of the remaining infected patients are quarantined in their homes.
• 154,227 patients have fully recovered, a 79.1% recovery rate of the total cases since March.
• 595,057 covid-19 tests have been conducted in Costa Rica since March, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering of Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.
• 2,641 deaths are listed as covid-19 related, approximately 1.4% death rate. Of these 993 are women and 1,648 men. The ages range from a 2-year-old to a 101-year-old.
Readers can see the current number of infected people in each district at the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has killed more than 2.2 million people worldwide.
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What is the vaccination rate against covid-19 in your country? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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