Severe fever slightly more often reported after AstraZeneca vaccine, side effects lab says

Side effects like fever and chills are slightly more often experienced as severe after the AstraZeneca vaccine than the other coronavirus vaccines being used in the Netherlands, side effects center Lareb said on Tuesday. The center will be investigating the differences in reported side effects over the next few weeks.

Up to and including February 28, Lareb received a total of 6,426 reports with 31,534 possible side effects caused by coronavirus vaccines. The most commonly reported are muscle pain, headaches, and a general feeling of unwellness. Most of these disappeared after a few days, Lareb said. There were also 39 reports of a severe allergic reaction.

Lareb also received 87 reports of people who died in the days after being vaccinated. “Based on all death reports after vaccination, Lareb is looking at whether side effects of the vaccines may have contributed to the deaths. For the majority, the underlying health problems seem to be the most obvious explanation for the death,” the researchers said. “In some of the reports, there is not yet a clear explanation for the death and the possible role the vaccination had in this.”

There was no visible pattern that emerged from research into the deaths and possible side effects from either of the three vaccines in use in the Netherlands. Lareb said that all 87 people were either already at an advanced age, or had serious underlying health problems. Fourteen of those who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, and 71 were at least 80 years of age. No data was available for the other two.

Some of those who died reported side effects like fever, nausea, or feeling unwell. “These complaints are not in themselves the cause of death, but may have contributed to a deterioration of their already fragile state of health in some frail older persons.”