No cause for alarm as some side effects for some people after taking vaccine is normal - Dr Fong

No cause for alarm as some side effects for some people after taking vaccine is normal - Dr Fong

By Vijay Narayan
14/03/2021
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong. [image: Fijian Government]

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says there is no need for alarm after a few cases of some people feeling weak or having a slight fever following the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccination.

Doctor Fong says the effects of any vaccine, if they occur, tend to last for 24 to 72 hours in those that get them.

He says the side effects occur because the body has produced new cells that act as soldiers to combat the infection it is intended to protect us from.

Doctor Fong says some people react with side effects however it does mean that the vaccines are working.

He says the lack of side effects however does not mean that the vaccines are not effective; it only means that we are not all the same and some people's bodies will react to the presence of the new "soldier" cells in a different way to others.

Doctor Fong says the soldier cells are your own immune system’s cells.

He says our immune systems are one of the most amazing things about the human body.

Doctor Fong says it does this as a response to all infections, vaccines just induce the response without making someone sick with the disease.

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