KUALA LUMPUR: As far as the Health Ministry is concerned, the Covid-19 vaccine is safe.
âThere has not been a single fatality linked to the vaccine (since the inoculation drive was launched early this year),â said Deputy Health Minister II Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang.
He said while a total of 519 people have reportedly died after receiving the vaccine, a subsequent evaluation of each case showed that none of the deaths was caused by the vaccine.
He said there has not been any confirmation that anyone has died as a result of the effects of receiving the vaccine.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme kicked off on Feb 24 and to date, more than 90% of the adult population have been fully vaccinated.
The programme has since been extended to teenagers, and younger children are expected to start getting the vaccine soon.
Aaron Ago was responding to a question by Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof (PN-Alor Gajah), who enquired about safety measures introduced by the ministry to ensure that the vaccine is compatible with recipients.
On a related matter, the deputy minister said the government has yet to grant special financial aid to anyone who has reportedly experienced severe vaccine side effects, although several applications are under consideration.
He said as of Oct 27, the ministry had received a total of 22,132 reports of adverse side effects.
However, he said only 1,483 cases have been categorised as âseriousâ. In these cases, the recipients had to be hospitalised for monitoring and treatment for several days.
Aaron Ago said as of Oct 29, the ministry has received 74 applications for special financial aid for vaccine recipients who have experienced severe side effects.
âOf those, 58 applications have been taken under consideration, another nine have come under the âmain consideration for special financial assistanceâ category and five more cases have been rejected because their reactions could not be categorised as âadverse side effectsâ.â
He added the remaining two applications for aid were rejected outright because there was no proof of a direct correlation with the vaccine.
In March, the ministry announced that those who experienced serious side effects after receiving the vaccine and needed long-term medical treatment, would be given a RM50,000 compensation each.
Those who have been permanently disabled as a result of being vaccinated will receive a RM500,000 payout.
Families of those who have died as a result of receiving the vaccine will get a similar amount in compensation.
