A resident of Korian Les Amandiers EHPAD (housing facility for dependent elderly) receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination campaign to control the spread of COVID-19 in Paris, France, January 7, 2021 Photo: Xinhua
Concerns about the mRNA vaccine increased after a Russia Today report on Monday that all 78 residents of a nursing home in Madrid, Spain, had tested positive for COVID-19 after receiving their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech® on Jan. vaccine. at least seven people died.
A Chinese virologist advised older people, especially those with underlying conditions, not to use a mRNA vaccine like Pfizer’s as it could cause their condition and worsen their health, while a vaccination expert warned the public to take appropriate measures even after vaccination, since humans are likely to be infected with the virus before the vaccine takes effect.
Most of those who succumbed to the virus had pre-existing conditions, according to Spanish news agency EFE, while four residents have been hospitalized and 12 staff members also infected, Russia Today reports.
The report did not say whether the deaths and cases that test positive are directly related to vaccination.
Yang Zhanqiu, deputy director of the department of pathogen biology at Wuhan University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the positive test for COVID-19 can be divided into two cases: one is antibody positive and the other is a positive nucleic acid test.
He noted that the positive test result for nucleic acids is “highly unlikely”. Yang explained that the vaccine could not be approved until it passes safety tests, so it will not work as a “synthetic virus” infecting humans.
A normal person whose antibody is positive after taking the mRNA-based vaccine suggested that he / she was protected from infection, Yang said.
He explained that the mRNA vaccines teach human cells to make a protein that triggers an immune response, which can then protect people from infection if the real virus enters the body.
Tao Lina, a Shanghai-based vaccine expert, told the Global Times that the vaccination may cause positive IgM antibodies, which is a natural process. IgM is usually the first antibody produced by the immune system when a virus attacks.
In this case, the seven could have died of other illnesses. Tao urged an immediate investigation into their deaths.
But if the 78 people were positive for the nuclear acid test, it would suggest they were infected with the coronavirus before they were vaccinated, or before the vaccine went into effect, Tao said.
The infected patients may not have taken appropriate measures against the virus, Tao noted.
Yang warned that, unlike inactivated vaccines, the use of mRNA-based vaccines carries the risk of causing abnormal immune disorders, allergy or even death, especially in the elderly and those with underlying diseases.
Some components in mRNA vaccines, such as polyethylene glycol, have not been used in vaccine production before, and the mRNA-based vaccine was first approved to treat an infectious disease during this COVID-19 pandemic, so Yang suggested to the elderly and people with underlying conditions for not taking the vaccine.
The reports of deaths and cases testing positive after vaccination in Spain were not the first.
In mid-January, Norway reported the deaths of 23 elderly Norwegian people who received mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. All deaths occurred in frail elderly patients in nursing homes. They were all over 80 years old and some of them over 90, Norwegian media NRK reported.
More than 12,400 people in Israel had tested positive for coronavirus after being vaccinated with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, including 69 who received their second dose, the media reported in January.