Publications
Partners
NEWS
The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has reported that a second person has died after having the Covid-19 vaccine Janssen administered.
The first case was reported in August with the authority’s CEO, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, saying Sahpra had been informed of a fatal case of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) following vaccination with the Janssen vaccine.
READ: Covid-19 vaccine Janssen claims one life in South Africa
According to Sahpra, Janssen was one of the vaccines provided in the national roll-out, which commenced on May 17 2021, and to date had administered in over 9.1 million doses in South Africa.
On Monday, the authority reported that it had been informed of a second fatal case of GBS following vaccination with the Covid-19 vaccine Janssen.
Dr Semete-Makokotlela said the causality assessment of the reported case was conducted by the National Immunisation Safety Expert Committee using the World Health Organization’s methodology.
She said as previously communicated, GBS was a rare but potentially severe neurological adverse event that was associated with the administration of various vaccines and other medicines, and can also be triggered by some bacterial or viral infections including SARS-CoV-2.
“Symptoms of GBS range from mild to severe and may include muscle weakness, muscle pain, numbness and tingling. In many cases, GBS resolves with no serious after-effects but in some cases GBS can cause serious or life threatening problems,” Semete-Makokotlela added.
READ: Covid vaccine prevents death, not infection
She added investigations and causality assessment of all severe reported adverse events following immunisation with the Covid-19 vaccine Janssen and other Covid-19 vaccines were ongoing and an update on the outcome would be shared with the public as they become available.
“However, there are important points to note, for instance Covid-19 vaccines have consistently been shown to prevent severe forms of disease, hospitalisation and death. Based on the currently available evidence, the authority has determined that the benefits of Covid-19 vaccination far outweigh the very low risk of severe adverse events, including GBS.
“The public are strongly advised not to delay Covid-19 vaccination if eligible in terms of the national vaccination programme,” she added.
The authority urged the public to report any suspected adverse evens following the use of all medicines and vaccines.
