SINGAPORE - With significantly fewer reports of adverse events since the beginning of 2023, coupled with greater knowledge of the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) announced on Tuesday that it will stop publishing its regular safety updates.
However, it will continue to monitor the safety profile of all Covid-19 vaccines used here, and should any significant new concerns arise, inform the public.
This was said in its 15th and final safety update on Tuesday, which covers the vaccines’ roll-out from Dec 30, 2020, to June 30, 2023.
The first safety update was published on May 6, 2021, and covered the period between Dec 30, 2020, and April 18, 2021.
As at June 30, 15,926,075 doses of the monovalent mRNA vaccines have been administered, as well as 1,292,537 doses of the bivalent kind.
Among the monovalent shots, there were 17,904 adverse reactions, or a reporting rate of 0.10 per cent.
Bivalent vaccines, on the other hand, had 1,163 adverse reactions, or a reporting rate of 0.007 per cent.
Although mRNA vaccines carry the potential risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that can weaken and impede the organ’s overall function, incidents remain rare.
For the bivalent vaccines, reporting rates for myocarditis were 0.2 for every 100,000 doses, and 1.1 per 100,000 doses for the primary vaccination series of the monovalent vaccines.
There have been two deaths certified as myocarditis so far, with the State Coroner ruling them as being likely related to the vaccines.
Most myocarditis cases following vaccinations are mild, with patients responding well to treatment, said HSA.
It added that there were no new safety findings from the use of mRNA vaccines in all age groups since its last update in February.
For the Nuvaxovid vaccine, there have been a total of 49,485 doses administered as at June 30. The reporting rate of serious adverse events was 0.02 per cent, or nine reports.
A total of 824,173 doses of inactivated Covid-19 vaccines (Sinovac-CoronaVac and Sinopharm) have been administered as at June 30. The reporting rate of serious adverse events remained rare, at 0.005 per cent, or 41 reports.
There were also no new safety findings for this set of vaccines.
