What you need to know when getting the Pfizer vaccine

This is an automatically translated article.

The current situation of COVID-19 epidemic in the country is having many complicated developments, to be able to control and prevent the disease, a vaccine is the best solution. In particular, the Pfizer vaccine is more than 95% effective in preventing severe cases of Covid-19 and limiting the risk of death.
Video content is professionally consulted by MSc. Dr. Nguyen Hai Ha, Head of Vaccine Unit - Pediatric Outpatient Department, Vinmec Times City International Hospital

1. Important note when injecting Pfizer vaccine

Currently, Vietnam only administers Pfizer vaccine to people 18 years of age and older who are eligible after screening. After injection, people may experience side effects, ranging from mild to moderate and improve after about 3-5 days, the most common include:
Very common (10% or more): pain headache, arthralgia, myalgia, pain at injection site, fatigue, chills, fever (higher frequency with 2nd dose), injection site swelling. In addition, the injector may also have nausea, redness at the injection site (with a ratio of 1/100 to less than 1/10)
Besides, there are also uncommon reactions such as: swollen lymph nodes, pain in extremities, ... Rarely, acute peripheral facial paralysis, myocarditis and coagulopathy in humans after vaccination with this vaccine. (greater than or equal to 1/1000 to less than 1/1000).
Note that after vaccination, you should not drink alcohol and must be supervised 48-72 hours after vaccination to ensure safety.
According to the Instructions for Use approved by the Ministry of Health, the Pfizer vaccine is indicated for active immunity against COVID-19 in persons 12 years of age and older. However, at present, our country only appoints this vaccine for people aged 18 years and over. According to the Ministry of Health, in the coming time, the age specified for vaccination will be updated according to the supply of vaccines in Vietnam.
The injector will be injected with 0.3 ml each intramuscularly. The injection schedule consists of two injections, 3-4 weeks apart. The current recommendation of the Ministry of Health is to give priority to using the same COVID-19 vaccine to inject two doses for the same subject.
People with underlying medical conditions and chronic diseases who have been stabilized must go through a thorough screening and need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 at a hospital, or a medical facility capable of resuscitation. initial.
You must not arbitrarily stop the medication you are being treated for because of the Covid-19 vaccine. When you go for an injection, you need to bring your prescription and medical history for specific advice from a doctor.
According to studies and recommendations from the National Immunization Committee of Canada and some European countries, people who have received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine can receive the vaccine produced by mRNA technology (Pfizer, Moderna) for a second dose, unless contraindicated. WHO is also considering consensus on this proposal.

2. Pay attention to the Covid vaccine for high effectiveness

In Vietnam, although the Ministry of Health recommends injecting the same vaccine, in the event that there are not enough vaccine sources, Pfizer 2nd dose can be given after Astrazeneca 1st injection, the time between injections is spaced. 8-12 weeks apart to reduce post-vaccination side effects.
At Decisions 3400/QD-BYT dated 12/7/2021 and Decision No. 3609/QD-BYT dated July 28, 2021 of the Ministry of Health on the distribution of vaccines manufactured by Moderna, it was requested that Establish a plan to ensure that each vaccinated subject is fully vaccinated with 2 doses of this vaccine. On September 8, 2021, the Expert Advisory Council on Vaccine Use of the Ministry of Health issued a recommendation: in case of force majeure, when the supply of injected COVID-19 vaccine is not enough for injection. For the second dose, another vaccine can be used to inject the second dose, whereby: If you have injected the first dose of a vaccine manufactured by Moderna, the second dose can be injected with the Pfizer vaccine and vice versa.
However, vaccination will depend on the guidelines of the local Department of Health. There is currently no official recommendation from the WHO, or the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for an additional booster dose after completing two doses of Covid-19 vaccine. However, in the US and Europe such as the UK and Germany, 3 injections have been considered 6-12 months after the 2nd dose for immunocompromised subjects, the elderly over 65 years old, cancer patients, organ transplants, kidney failure. and patients taking immunosuppressive drugs.
The US Food and Drug Administration has revised the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to allow for a single, minimally used booster dose. six months after completion of 2 injections, for subjects including:
Persons 65 years of age and older Persons 18 to 64 years of age at high risk for severe COVID-19 and Persons 18 to 64 years of age with frequent contact with SARS-CoV-2 and/or are at high risk for serious complications from COVID-19. In Vietnam, the Ministry of Health has not yet recommended the 3rd dose of vaccine for people who have received 2 full doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
You should closely follow the announcements of the Ministry of Health to update the situation, not because of anxiety and false information that arbitrarily inject more doses of vaccine to avoid unfortunate consequences.