Public urged to use 'credible, accurate sources' for vaccine information
Dr O'Brien said of vaccine information: 'It is extremely important that people are getting information from accurate, credible sources, and that these individual attributions are really not something that has any credibility to it.' Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie
The public has been urged to get vaccination information from “credible, accurate sources” by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and cautioned people about the credibility of social media reports.
WHO's immunization, vaccines, and biologicals department director Dr Kate O'Brien, said safety concerns are regularly investigated. “For some of the vaccines there have been some heart-related issues,” she said.
“And for the mRNA vaccines in young men there has been a signal rarely identified, particularly in young men but not only in young men, of inflammation in the heart. It is generally mild, it recovers with no consequences in the long term.”
All reports potentially linking vaccines to injury or illness are investigated, she said.
“In one system there was a signal there was maybe something happening with events in older adults. That has been looked into, it is not happening in other reporting systems, this has not been verified in any other system. It will continue to be watched.” Dr O’ Brien stressed:
Meanwhile, a hospital campaign group in Cork will protest against risks to patients from overcrowding and cancelled operations outside Cork University Hospital on Saturday.
This joins at least 13 other protests nationally including in Limerick and Tralee.
Co-organiser Finian Toomey said: “We are asking all parties and none to join us on the 21st, outside the CUH, between 1pm and 3 pm. To protest against the lack of services, the lack of doctors, the lack of consultants and the debacle that the health service is in this country.”
The Cork protest is part of the National Hospital Campaign, and is supported by Aontú. Mr Toomey is the party's Cork North Central representative.
“It’s about everything across Cork, Limerick, Munster, and Ireland,” he said. “Every single hospital in the country has waiting lists. I am on three different waiting lists myself now at the moment.”
In the North, the Royal College of Midwives will shortly ballot on industrial action over pay.
