Expresso reports that EMA, the European Medicines Agency, is investigating three possible new adverse reactions to mRNA vaccines – the Pfizer and Moderna shots the EU has been seen to favour.
The reactions are: erythema multiforme (an allergic skin inflammation, usually mild that disappears within weeks, but which can have life-changing consequences), glomerulonephritis (a type of kidney disease, early symptoms of which include:
- Face puffiness in the morning
- blood in urine (or brown urine)
- urinating less than usual
- Shortness of breath
- High blood pressure)
and nephrotic syndrome (a kidney problem that causes excessive excretion of proteins in the urine, leading to swelling, particularly in feet and ankles. Glumerulonehritis is described as increasing the risk of other health problems.).
According to Reuters these three clinical conditions are being studied by EMA’s Security Committee, although for now there is no indication of how many people experienced these symptoms.
“Neither Pfizer nor Moderna, contacted by Reuters, wanted to comment for the time being on these cases”, writes Expresso, stressing that “mRNA technology is seen as revolutionary among the scientific community and vaccines that use it have meant a turning point in the fight against the pandemic, but in recent months several rare side effects have been associated with these immunizers.
“In the European Union, more than 330 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine have already been administered, while Moderna surpasses the mark of 43.5 million injections.
“Both EMA and the World Health Organisation continue to argue that despite the extremely rare side effects, the benefits of taking these vaccines continue to far outweigh the risks”.
Reuters’ article also highlights ‘menstrual disorders’ as a condition that EMA is studying for Covid vaccines, including those from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
