Freedom of Information request on the yellow cards reported following the COVID-19 vaccinations by medical professionals (FOI 21/1095)
Published 27 April 2022
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21st October 2021
FOI 21/1095
Dear
Thank you for your email dated 30th September where you asked how many of the Yellow Card reports concerning COVID-19 vaccinations currently used in the UK were submitted by medical professionals.
Up to and including 14th October 2021, on average 17% of the Yellow Card reports concerning the COVID-19 vaccinations currently in use in the UK (Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) were submitted by healthcare professionals (HCPs). However, please note that all HCPs who received the vaccine and submitted a Yellow Card on behalf of themselves would be classed as patients on our system.
When considering spontaneous data, it is important to be aware of the following:
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A report of a suspected ADR to the Yellow Card scheme does not necessarily mean that it was caused by the vaccine, only that the reporter has a suspicion it may have. Underlying or previously undiagnosed illness unrelated to vaccination can also be factors in such reports. The relative number and nature of reports should therefore not be used to compare the safety of the different vaccines.
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All reports are kept under continual review in order to identify possible new risks. For a medicine or vaccine to be considered safe, the expected benefits will be greater than the risk of having harmful reactions. It is important to note that most people take medicines and vaccines without having any serious side effects.
A list of the recognised adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines is provided in the information for healthcare professionals and the recipient information. These can be found on the Coronavirus Yellow Card reporting site. Further details on Yellow Cards reported in relation to COVID-19 vaccinations is available in our summary of Yellow Card reporting.
I hope the information provided is helpful, but if you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of this response; and can be addressed to this email address.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Team,
Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines Division