Croatian Agency: 139 reports of suspected side effects of COVID-19 vaccine received so far

ZAGREB, 19 January (Hina) – The Croatian Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices (HALMED) has so far received 139 reports of suspected side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, it said on its website.

The agency has so far studied 116 of the reports, finding 20 percent of them to be serious and 80 percent non-serious.

The most frequent side effects reported included local reactions, such as pain and swelling at the injection site, a headache, an elevated body temperature, feeling weak and tired, shaking chills and nausea.

These are expected side effects and are similar to side effects of other vaccines. They are slight to moderate in intensity and they wear off spontaneously over a period of several days or after the use of symptomatic therapy such as cold compresses, fever-reducing medications and painkillers, HALMED said.

The agency said it had not received any reports of suspected side effects with a fatal outcome.

The Croatian Institute of Public Health said earlier this week that 45,906 people in Croatia have received the first shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and the second shot was administered as of 18 January.

4,757 people vaccinated in quake-hit Sisak-Moslavina County

In Sisak-Moslavina County, which was hit by a magnitude 6.2 earthquake on 29 December, 4,757 people have been vaccinated. Besides local inhabitants, many of whom lost their homes, members of emergency services and volunteers who stayed in the area after the tremor were also vaccinated.

Inoculation with Moderna’s vaccine began on 13 January in Sisak-Moslavina County and among members of emergency services before their going to the quake-hit areas. The gap between the two shots of this vaccine is a minimum four weeks.

Coronavirus vaccination in Croatia began on 27 December and the first to be vaccinated was a female resident of a Zagreb retirement home.