AstraZeneca side effects more likely in young adults: Chula study
As Thailand prepares to expand vaccination from elderly recipients to the general population, top virologist Yong Poovorawan cautioned that working-age people were more likely to experience side effects such as fever and body aches from the AstraZeneca jab.
“We have rarely seen elderly people complain of fever after vaccination with AstraZeneca," said Dr Yong.
However, younger recipients, especially those under 30, tended to seek painkillers after vaccination, he added.
Dr Yong heads the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, where a study has confirmed Covid-19 vaccine side effects impact the young more strongly. However, symptoms are temporary with fever typically lasting 24 hours or occasionally for two days. Young people have a stronger reaction to vaccines thanks to their healthier immune systems, the study suggests.
Thailand needs to administer 300,000 jabs per day to meets its target of 100 million Covid-19 vaccinations by the end of this year, according to Dr Yong.
So far, 2.26 million of the 100 million doses of vaccine have been administered, or about 2.2 per cent.