“It’s true that compared to something like a tetanus shot, which has been in use for nearly a century, COVID-19 vaccines have a much shorter record of safety. But there are a few things to consider. One is that, due to the pandemic, billions of people have received these vaccines. Collecting data on how a medical intervention impacts billions of people would take decades in any other scenario, but we’ve been able to get it in just a few months. And because these vaccines are new, they are being carefully monitored. It’s how experts were able to identify that the AstraZeneca vaccine carries a small risk of a rare blood clot condition called thrombocytopenia syndrome. The risk is less than 10 in 1 million, yet researchers were able to identify it quickly due to intensive monitoring and the sheer number of people getting their shots.”1
- Rogers, Kaleigh. “Still Unsure about Getting the Covid-19 Vaccine? Start Here.” FiveThirtyEight. FiveThirtyEight, August 11, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://fivethirtyeight.com/.
