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The important thing to remember is that (outside of a trial) REPORTED side-effects are common. Side-effects LINKED TO THE VACCINE are much less so https://twitter.com/DoctorChristian/status/1334221833952956418
Worth clarifying here that what I mean is that there will undoubtedly be many reports of problems that people have following vaccination - this is NORMAL
It's just the law of large numbers at work. If enough people are given a vaccine, sooner or later one of them will be, say, hit by a car shortly after
The question is whether this is related to the vaccine or not!
The question is whether this is related to the vaccine or not!
Now, we know that common/minor things, like headaches, probably are
We've excluded common/severe things, like heart attacks, in the trials
But what about rare/severe?
We've excluded common/severe things, like heart attacks, in the trials
But what about rare/severe?
Well, we've tested enough people that even rare/severe things are extremely unlikely. But there will almost certainly be very rare side-effects that can't be captured even with 10,000s of people
If something only happens 1 in a million times, it's hard to pick it up in even the biggest trial
What this means is that there will be some issues that we only find out about once the vaccine has been rolled out
What this means is that there will be some issues that we only find out about once the vaccine has been rolled out
This is what Phase 4 (post-license) studies are all about. To sort out whether the things that happen to people after getting vaccinated are related to the vaccine or not
