A Chinese doctor and a vaccine expert, Dr Tao Lina, has claimed that the country’s Sinopharm vaccine for coronavirus is “the most unsafe in the world” with 73 side effects.
Taking to social media, Dr Tao pointed out to his 4.8 million social media followers that the jab developed by Beijing’s state-run drugmaker Sinopharm had 73 side effects. He stated that after he read the manual of the vaccine, “I took in a long cold breath, and counted the conditions listed in the ‘adverse reactions’ column.”
The vaccine expert found that in addition to pain in the injection site and headache, there were severe side effects listed that were “more likely to occur,” such as high blood pressure, loss of vision, loss of taste, delayed menstruation, and urinary incontinence.
He said that the 73 adverse reactions to the vaccine listed on the manual make it what he describes as the “most unsafe vaccine in the world in one fell swoop.”
Tao said that no inactivated vaccine has more types of adverse reactions than this product. He also asserted that this number of adverse reactions is “absolutely unprecedented.”
He stated that other doctors jokingly described the manual as “one long disclaimer.” However, he alleged that as long as the side effects are listed in the manual, recipients are not entitled to compensation if they occur.
However, the post was deleted on January 5 by China’s censors “due to violation of regulations.”
After his remarks were widely reported outside mainland China, the medical worker denied having criticized the vaccine and denounced foreign media outlets for ‘twisting’ and ‘exploiting’ his words.
Dr Tao claimed his controversial post had been written in an ‘extremely sarcastic’ tone. He insisted that the Chinese treatment was ‘very safe’ and apologized to his fellow countrymen for his ‘imprudent’ choice of words.
On New Year’s Eve, Beijing’s health authorities granted ‘conditional’ approval to Sinopharm’s vaccine, which is reported to have an efficacy rate of 79.34 per cent.
The country is aiming to inoculate millions of people, mostly front-line workers and working-age population, before the upcoming Lunar New Year travel rush in mid-February.
Advertisement
Author
