Vietnam Confirms Five Cases of Allergic Reaction to AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine, Reports Suggest

BANGKOK (Sputnik) - Five people out of 522 Vietnamese citizens who were the first to receive the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine have developed minor side effects, such as allergic reaction, after the first injection, the VnExpress online newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Vietnam launched its national vaccination campaign on Monday, using AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine, with frontline medical workers being the first to receive the shot. The defence and public security ministries also received doses for vaccinating officers and servicemen who test people for the disease or send them into state quarantine.

According to the online newspaper, two of those vaccinated suffered from anaphylaxis, while three others developed diarrhea, allergies and low pulse pressure. All five are currently in stable condition and receiving treatment at hospitals.

Most of those affected developed other usual symptoms observed in other countries — muscle pain, fatigue, fever, headaches, chills, pain at the injection spot and nausea, VnExpress added, citing initial reports.

The Asian country plans to import 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months to inoculate the entire population. The first batch including 117,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Vietnam in late February.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Vietnam has confirmed 2,524 infections, including 1,920 recoveries and 35 fatalities.