Key Sentence:
- South African regulator for health products (Sahara) notified legislature on Wednesday of a study and impact of the Covid-19 vaccine.
During a briefing on the Parliamentary Health Committee portfolio, Tumi Semete-Makokotlela, CEO of Sahara, said they closely monitored “adverse post-vaccination events” following reports of side effects. He said a report would be released on Friday detailing the unfavorable results for the two vaccines currently in use in the country.
“As of July 7, we received approximately 1,494 safety reports, 564 for Pfizer vaccine, 930 for J&J vaccine… In addition, a total of 3,730 post-vaccination side effects for Pfizer and J&J were reported and analyzed. There are also those in terms of special interest reported,” he said.
“Currently, there are studies of cause-and-effect relationships. And what cause-and-effect studies have to say, we need to determine whether the events we’re seeing are really vaccine-related or something else. “So this was a pervasive study that was done, and an autopsy was done. “
In May, Sahara announced the launch of the Med Safety app, which aims to simplify and encourage reporting of suspected adverse reactions, including post-vaccination side effects, by both the public and healthcare providers.
Senate-Makokotlela updated the Ivermectin commission, saying there was no evidence that the drug, which is also not approved for human use, reduces hospitalizations and deaths. “Ivermectin should non be used routinely in the treatment of Covid-19 at any stage, except in the context of adequately driven randomized clinical trials (RCTs) with well-defined study endpoints intended for regulatory approval,” said Senate-Makokotlela.
“Most of the evidence for RCTs consists of methodologically low experiments, mostly with small sample sizes and a wide range of interventions and controls, which limits confidence in any conclusions about ivermectin. No data on clinical or virological benefit are availablbenefitsvermectin should not be used routinely to treat Covid-19 except as part of a clinical trial.
In January, Sahara agreed to allow doctors to start ivermectin treatment in urgent cases.