english.prescrire.org > Spotlight > "Spotlight"
"Spotlight"

Viral vector covid-19 vaccines authorised in the European Union: a review of their adverse effects

FEATURED REVIEW The first-choice options for the prevention of covid-19 are the messenger RNA (mRNA) covid-19 vaccines, with the two viral vector vaccines, covid-19 vaccine ChAdOx1-S (Vaxzevria° from AstraZeneca) and covid-19 vaccine Ad26.COV2-S (Jcovden° from Janssen-Cilag), as second choices. What adverse effects are known to occur with these viral vector vaccines?
Full review (3 pages) available for download by subscribers.

  • Tens of millions of people around the world have been vaccinated against covid-19 since early 2021 with one of the two viral vector vaccines authorised in the European Union. Numerous studies have analysed these vaccines' adverse effects using pharmacovigilance reports or healthcare databases.
     
  • In addition to flu-like symptoms, local reactions and hypersensitivity reactions, a number of signals for rarer adverse effects have also emerged, including: thromboses in unusual locations, sometimes with thrombocytopenia; hypertension, myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, and capillary leak syndrome; and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

©Prescrire 1 October 2022

Source: "Viral vector covid-19 vaccines authorised in the European Union: a review of their adverse effects" Prescrire International 2022; 31 (241): 241-243. Subscribers only.

Enjoy full access to Prescrire International, and support independent information