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Drugs Ther Perspect
. 2021 Aug 2;1-7.
doi: 10.1007/s40267-021-00852-z. Online ahead of print.
Adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccines: the need to strengthen pharmacovigilance monitoring systems
Sunil Shrestha 1 , Januka Khatri 2 , Sujyoti Shakya 3 4 , Krisha Danekhu 3 , Asmita Priyadarshini Khatiwada 3 , Ranjit Sah 5 6 , Bhuvan Kc 1 , Vibhu Paudyal 7 , Saval Khanal 8 , Alfonso J Rodriguez-Morales 9 10 11
Affiliations
- PMID: 34366660
- PMCID: PMC8327058
- DOI: 10.1007/s40267-021-00852-z
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new species of β-coronavirus genus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The COVID-19 pandemic, which started in late 2019 and continues as at mid-2021, has caused enormous damage to health and lives globally. The urgent public health need has led to the development of vaccines against COVID-19 in record-breaking time. The COVID-19 vaccines have been widely rolled out for the masses by many countries following approval for emergency use by the World Health Organization and regulatory agencies in many countries. In addition, several COVID-19 vaccine candidates are undergoing clinical trials. However, myths, fears, rumors, and misconceptions persist, particularly in regard to adverse events. In this commentary, we describe the adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccines and discuss why it is essential to have a functional adverse event monitoring system in this context.