The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) reported Friday that safety issues are not related to the Pfizer and BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccines. There were also no deaths attributed to the vaccines, the health agency noted.
The report, which contains the data of the first vaccines administered on 11 December to 13 January 2021, showed headaches, fatigue and dizziness. While 113 deaths were reported to the vaccine reporting system, none of the data suggested a link to the COVID-19 vaccine.
The agency did note “rare cases” of anaphylaxis in both Pfizer and Moderna vaccine recipients, but that it was not beyond the scope of those seen with other vaccines.
“The incidence of anaphylaxis after receiving COVID-19 vaccines during the analytical period, 4.5 cases per million doses administered, is within the range reported after receiving inactivated influenza vaccine (1.4 per million) , pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (2.5 per million), and live attenuated herpes zoster vaccine (9.6 per million); effective treatments for anaphylaxis exist (6), “the report reads.
The agency also said adverse reactions to the Pfizer vaccine were reported more frequently after receiving the second dose than the first, but that information regarding the second dose of Moderna was not yet available due to the dose intervals.
“The initial safety profiles for post-eradication of the two COVID-19 vaccines currently in use do not indicate unexpected serious adverse events,” the report said. “These data provide reassurance and useful information about what healthcare providers and vaccine recipients can expect after vaccination.”
In the approximately 30 days of monitoring, more than 13.7 million doses were administered. Across the U.S., the rollout has had a rocky start, with confusion over scheduling, supply constraints and concerns about wasted doses.
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Supply is still a source of concern among states, with the US currently administering an average of about 1.7 million doses per day. On Friday, the White House noted that winter storms affected the shipment of incoming supply to each of the 50 states, and that approximately 6 million doses were being discontinued. Andy Slavitt, White House COVID-19 adviser, said he expected the delayed inventory to catch up within the next few days.