Lawmakers questioned health officials about adverse reactions to the COVID vaccine that have been reported to the state during a Health and Welfare committee meeting Monday. State Epidemiologist Theresa Sokol said so far 122 events have been reported in Louisiana via the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting Systems also known as VAERS.
“That we have investigated, as possible severe adverse events, that might be related to the vaccine, among those only eleven have met the criteria of that we have established,” said Sokol.
More than 4.5 million total doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered in Louisiana.
Sokol said to date, the state has not reported any deaths from the COVID vaccine, and of the adverse effects, they are typically an anaphylactic reaction to the vaccine that requires hospitalization, a reaction she said that almost happens immediately and they’ve had one such event.
She said they also look at cases of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, that’s been associated with the vaccine.
“And also, as well the sort of blood disorders, the thrombosis with thrombocytopenia. So those are included in our case definition,” said Sokol.
Guillain-Barre an autoimmune disorder that can cause muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis has also been associated with the vaccine. Representative Kenny Cox of Natchitoches asked State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter about the number of events reported because his physician wants to see if there’s a possibility it’s impacted his own health.
“We’ve had one case of Guillain-Barre that has met our criteria for vaccine-related Severe adverse events,” said Kanter.
“You have only one case, yeh, because I’m going to be tested,” said Cox.
Sokol said of the cases nationally that have been noted, the onset of symptoms from Guillain-Barre is typically within two weeks of vaccination.
VAERS was established in 1990 and anyone can report reactions, not just a healthcare provider, to the system.
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