A health worker prepares a syringe with a dose of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at Bang Khun Thian Geriatric Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, April 21, 2021. REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha
Thailand will continue to use China’s Sinovac Biotech (SVA.O) COVID-19 vaccine, following six reports of unusual “stroke-like” side effects among beneficiaries, government-appointed experts said on Wednesday.
Six medical staff from Rayong province, east of Bangkok, who were inoculated earlier this month, showed symptoms similar to those of a stroke, the group of experts said, including drowsiness and numbness in the limbs.
Since then, they have recovered after receiving stroke treatments and no blood clots have been found.
The announcement comes amid increased global emphasis on the levels of efficacy and possible side effects of different COVID-19 vaccines and temporary suspensions in some countries, including reports of blood clots in some beneficiaries.
Sinovac did not immediately respond to an email requesting comments.
Thailand has received two million doses from the Chinese company CoronaVac, which have already been administered to more than 600,000 people nationwide. He has ordered another 1.5 million photos to arrive soon.
Experts could not say for sure what caused the symptoms, which they believed could be related to the nervous system and are not fatal, said Kulkanya Chokephaibulkit at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok.
Brain scans from all six women showed normal results that do not suggest a stroke and no irregularities were found in the batch of vaccines from which the six doses came, Kulkanya said.
Doses from the same batch were distributed in other provinces and more than 300,000 people could have already received the shots, she added.
“The group agreed that we can continue to use this batch of vaccines because the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the temporary effects that can occur,” Kulkanya said.
No such effects have been previously reported in Thailand or other countries, she added.
The incidents would not change Thailand’s plan to begin mass vaccinations in June, Taweesap Siraprapasiri of the Department of Disease Control said.
“Side effects can be monitored and do not exceed what we can expect,” said Taweesap.
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