vaccine Photo: VCG
Large-scale use of COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccines, including those produced by Pfizer and Moderna, may contain unknown risks, warned Chinese experts, and called for the cautious use of such vaccines after the death of a patient in the United States.
Unlike inactivated vaccines, large-scale use of mRNA vaccines carries the risk of causing abnormal immune dysfunction, allergies or even death, especially among the elderly and people with underlying diseases, said the Chinese immunologist, while some observers call for further investigation. about death before reaching a conclusion that mRNA vaccines are not safe.
The patient, from Placer County, California, died hours after receiving a coronavirus vaccine, raising concerns about the safety of mRNA vaccines, despite Placer County officials rejecting the link between the person’s death and the vaccine, informed the KTLA.
Authorities did not disclose where the patient received the injection and which vaccine was used in this specific case, the report said.
The vaccines that the county probably received were the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or the Modern COVID-19 vaccine, since both had been authorized in the USA for application. Both are mRNA vaccines.
California authorities are investigating the cause of death.
A Beijing immunologist, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Monday that some components of mRNA vaccines, such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), had not been used in vaccine production before, and it is not surprising to see allergic reactions in some people. The physical properties of the vaccine’s liposomes also pose the risk of causing abnormal disorders of immune function.
MRNA vaccines teach human cells to produce a protein to trigger an immune response, which can then protect people from being infected if the real virus enters the body.
He called for a halt to the use of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in the elderly and people with underlying diseases, as this new technology has not proven safe in large-scale use.
Previously, Norway reported the deaths of 23 elderly Norwegians who received mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. All deaths occurred in frail elderly patients in nursing homes. They were all over 80 and some over 90, Norwegian media reported NRK.
However, Lü Mengtao, a medical industry observer, told the Global Times on Monday that the reported death may not be directly related to the vaccines, which should be evaluated with caution so that the unsafe mRNA vaccine is not made irrationally. .
The observer suggested that individuals with pre-existing illnesses, the elderly and people with vulnerable immunity should not receive such vaccines.
Even for inactivated vaccines with more mature technology, those high-risk groups, such as the elderly and people with underlying diseases, are not advised to be administered immediately.
Global Times