"... the MHRA said it did not currently anticipate any specific safety concerns."
But the MHRA also did not detect concerns with narcolepsy and the Pandemrix vaccine in 2009 and was unapologetic nine years on in these columns (while Clifford Miller going through the available data found as many as 178 potentially related reports in the first 67 days) [2]. More recently they did not anticipate problems with PEG and anaphylaxis before the rollout of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, though these were already identified by others [3].
[1] Ingrid Torjesen, 'Covid-19: Norway investigates 23 deaths in frail elderly patients after vaccination', BMJ 2021; 372 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n149 (Published 15 January 2021)
Competing interests:
AgeofAutism.com, an on-line daily journal, concerns itself with the potential environmental sources for the proliferation of autism, neurological impairment, immune dysfunction and chronic disease. I receive no payment as UK Editor. I also moderate comments for the on-line journal ‘The Defender’ for which I am paid. I am also a member of the UK Medical Freedom Alliance
Rapid Response:
Is the MHRA up to it?
Dear Editor
Ingrid Torjesen reports [1]:
"... the MHRA said it did not currently anticipate any specific safety concerns."
But the MHRA also did not detect concerns with narcolepsy and the Pandemrix vaccine in 2009 and was unapologetic nine years on in these columns (while Clifford Miller going through the available data found as many as 178 potentially related reports in the first 67 days) [2]. More recently they did not anticipate problems with PEG and anaphylaxis before the rollout of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, though these were already identified by others [3].
[1] Ingrid Torjesen, 'Covid-19: Norway investigates 23 deaths in frail elderly patients after vaccination', BMJ 2021; 372 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n149 (Published 15 January 2021)
[2] John Stone, 'An obligation on the powers that be not to repeat the errors of 2009', 3 December 2020, https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4654/rr-4
[3] John Stone, 'PEG in the Pfizer vaccine: not a good start', 15 December 2020, https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4654/rr-28
Competing interests: AgeofAutism.com, an on-line daily journal, concerns itself with the potential environmental sources for the proliferation of autism, neurological impairment, immune dysfunction and chronic disease. I receive no payment as UK Editor. I also moderate comments for the on-line journal ‘The Defender’ for which I am paid. I am also a member of the UK Medical Freedom Alliance