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A health care worker holds a Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine.
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
As Covid-19 vaccines go into broad use, some rare side effects of vaccination will almost certainly emerge, like the reports of small numbers of people developing anaphylaxis. But so will medical events whose timing just comes down to random chance and the potential ripple effects of those reports already have experts concerned.
Every single day, people die unexpectedly. They have strokes and heart attacks and seizures. On an average day, 110 people in this country may develop Bell’s palsy, a temporary facial paralysis, and another 274 will develop Guillain-Barré syndrome, a form of paralysis that usually resolves over time. The trigger for these medical events often isn’t known. But when they happen shortly after someone gets a vaccine especially a new one well, conclusions will be drawn.
For years, California and other states have collected detailed personal data from those getting immunizations to ensure children received the required shots.
With the rollout of coronavirus vaccines, experts say the collection of names, addresses, birth dates and other information will be vital to tracking the safety and effectiveness of products that were developed in record time.
But there are concerns that the plan to collect such data could stop some of those most vulnerable to the coronavirus, including essential workers who are in the country illegally, from lining up for vaccination.
“There has to be an exemption for people who are afraid to provide all their information,” said Jim Mangia, chief executive of St. John’s Well Child and Family Center, a nonprofit that is planning to soon deliver tens of thousands of shots a week at its clinics, which serve low-income families in South and Central Los Angeles. “Otherwise you’re going to have vast numbers of people who
For years, California and other states have collected detailed personal data from those getting immunizations to ensure children received the required shots.
With the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, experts say the collection of names, addresses, birth dates and other information will be vital to tracking the safety and effectiveness of products that were developed in record time.
But there are concerns that the plan to collect such data could stop some of those most vulnerable to the coronavirus, including essential workers who are in the country illegally, from lining up for vaccination.
“There has to be an exemption for people who are afraid to provide all their information,” said Jim Mangia, chief executive of St. John’s Well Child and Family Center, a nonprofit that is planning to soon deliver tens of thousands of shots a week at its clinics, which serve low-income families in South and Central Los Angeles. “Otherwise you’re going to have vast numbers of people who ar