Dr. Ifeoma Achebe Explains the Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines

Dr. Ifeoma Achebe Explains the Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines

Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent

People do not need to be hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as each of the three vaccines are generally safe and effective according to Dr. Ifeoma Achebe, Lead Medical Officer of Alberta Health Services, (AHS) Central Zone.

Achebe said the three COVID- 19 vaccines available are Astra Zeneca, Moderna, and Pfizer vaccines. “With every vaccine, there are a small group of people that may not want to take it. The Astra Zeneca can lead to a rare blood clot, cerebral venous thrombosis but that is quite rare. However, this might be why some people do not want to get the vaccine?

The chances of dying from COVID-19 infection if you are 55 or older is 1 in 200 people which is way higher than it would be if you got this vaccine. With the Astra Zeneca vaccine the chances of getting the serious side effect is somewhere in between one in 100,000 or one in 250,000 for people who get the vaccine.

Dr. Ifeoma Achebe, Lead Medical Officer of Health for AHS.

(Alberta Health Services/Submitted Photo)

The risk is higher for the older age group so we are going to extend the eligibility to get the Astra Zeneca vaccine to 40 and over. So, we will continue to encourage people to get the vaccine; it is safe; it is effective in reducing the COVID-19 infection and its severity. The risk of side effects is very low; right now, Canada gave up to 700,000 doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine and there were only two people, one in Alberta and one in Quebec who had the serious side effects from it.

We see vaccination as one of the ways we can help to reduce the COVID-19 pandemic and get back to normalcy. If not enough people get vaccinated, then more people will get the infection, and more people will have severe disease, and more people will have to use ICU and there will be more deaths. Then, if more people get vaccinated, the chances of transmitting the virus is pretty low. Even if you get vaccinated and get COVID-19, the disease will be mild.”

As far as encouraging someone to get vaccinated that doesn’t want to, Achebe advised these people look at the daily data that her colleagues and she are continuously monitoring and making sure the vaccine remains safe for people.

“If you happen to get immunized and don’t feel normal, you can call your physician or public health to report it. A lot of information on social media is false. I would suggest for the correct information that people look at a reliable source like the Alberta Health Services website for information on the safety of immunization and when they will be eligible.

Lastly, I encourage people to be attentive and look for when they are eligible to get immunized on the AHS website or you can check with pharmacies. While you wait to be eligible for the vaccine, I will continue to urge people to continue to use precautions, wear your mask, wash your hands, stay home when you are ill and always maintain your social distance. These protocols do work.

Even after you get vaccinated, we still want you to take the precautions as depending on the vaccination, they are just 65 to 95 percent effective. But because you have had the vaccination, you might not come down with the severe form of the disease.”