Benefits vs. risks: Doctors recommend COVID-19 vaccine, despite side effects
A needle is filled from a phial of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, England, on Tuesday. Credit: POOL/AFP via Getty Images/Owen Humphreys
New Yorkers should not hesitate to take one of the new COVID-19 vaccines when they become available, mainly because the benefits far outweigh any possible risks, medical experts said.
But participants in clinical trials for a vaccine developed by pharmaceutical and biomedical company Pfizer have reported side effects including redness, swelling and pain at the injection site, as well as chills, fever and joint pain, according to documents filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Researchers said those issues are short term and usually resolve within a day.
"Safety data from the clinical trials do not suggest any immediate risk," said Dr. Bruce Polsky, chairman of medicine at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island and an infectious disease specialist. "Ultimately, we await long-term data. However, most vaccine-associated problems occur within the first weeks to months following administration."
Pfizer’s vaccine could receive final approval by the FDA by the end of the week, after it is reviewed by the agency’s independent advisors on Thursday.
Two people with a history of significant allergies had a serious reaction after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the United Kingdom this week. Both recovered, but the incidents prompted British regulators to declare the vaccine should not be administered to people with certain allergies to food and medicine.
The vaccine is being tested in 150 clinical trial sites in six countries, including 39 in the United States, according to New York City-based Pfizer. More than 42,000 people in the clinical trials have received a second vaccination. Other short-term side-effects included muscle pain, and fatigue and in fewer instances vomiting and diarrhea.
The company said the vaccine has proved to be 95% effective.
If Pfizer's vaccine clears the FDA, it could be rolled out almost immediately. Later this month, the FDA is set to review another vaccine — from pharmaceutical company Moderna.
"I think everyone realizes we’re living in a time where over 3,000 people a day are dying and many, many more people are getting sick [from COVID-19]," said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of infectious diseases at Northwell Health. "The data so far that has come out has demonstrated that this vaccine is much more efficacious and effective than any of us could have dreamed of … It's really a grand slam."
The first doses in New York are set to go to nursing home staff and residents, followed by health care workers, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said. The state will work with the federal government in administering the first shots, Cuomo said.
"The vaccine is really going to get us back to the new normal," said Dr. Reynold A. Panettieri Jr., professor of medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. "It is not going to eliminate the disease completely, but it will have a profound effect, as we know, in about 95% of patients, which is pretty good.
"That means 5% will still get infected, but the severity of the disease should be attenuated," he added. "So, hopefully they won't need a hospital. They won't go into an ICU."
Older people with chronic illnesses and compromised immune systems should be eager to get the vaccine, since they are at great risk of falling seriously ill from COVID-19, Panettieri said.
Panettieri said people also should be reassured that the medical community will be closely tracking the impact of the vaccine. "We are all going to be vigilant in looking for adverse effects," he said.
There still will be skeptics, though. Despite the growing number of positive cases across the state, polls and surveys show some people may opt out of taking the vaccine due to safety concerns.
A nextLI survey conducted this past summer for Newsday found only 53% of Long Islanders would get a COVID-19 vaccine, with 16% saying they wouldn’t and 31% unsure.
"The issue is not just whether or not people trust this vaccine, it's also that people need to be educated about how to access this vaccine," said Rebecca Sanin, president and CEO of the Health & Welfare Council of Long Island. "It's really important that there is a strong effort around education and quite frankly an honest conversation to talk about people's concerns about safety."
Farber said people who are fearful of the vaccine should be mindful of the illnesses and deaths caused by COVID-19.
"The risks of the vaccine, at this point, are theoretical," he said. "The risks of the COVID virus are very real."
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Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.
