China's Sinopharm vaccine 'most unsafe in world' with 73 side effects

Side effects of China's vaunted Sinopharm vaccine include loss of vision

2021/01/06

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Chinese vaccine expert is referring to the vaunted Sinopharm vaccine as the "most unsafe vaccine in the world," after it was found to produce 73 side effects.

On Dec. 30 of last year, BBIBP-CorV, an inactivated vaccine produced by China National Biotec Group (CNBG), a subsidiary of China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (Sinopharm), was officially approved by China's National Medical Products Administration for general use in the communist country. This was the first Wuhan coronavirus vaccine approved by the Chinese government, and the state-run firm claimed that it has an efficacy rate of 79.34 percent based on late-stage trials.

However, Shanghai-based vaccine expert, Tao Lina (陶黎納), recently uploaded a digital version of the vaccine's instruction manual onto his Weibo page, reported Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper. He stated that after he read the manual, "I took in a long cold breath, and counted the conditions listed in the 'adverse reactions' column." He found that there were 73 local/systemic adverse reactions associated with the vaccine.

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 wrote 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 wrote 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.

He warned that the company will be immune to lawsuits from people seeking compensation for suffering the vaccine's side effects and that the provincial governments will be expected to provide recompense instead. Tao suggested that the provincial governments will then face most of the blame if there are major problems with the vaccine.

His Weibo account was quickly deleted by authorities. His page now states "this content cannot be viewed due to violation of regulations."

Tao, 43, has been working in the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention (SCDC) since August of 2000 and is responsible for vaccine management. In late December of last year, Beijing Business Today interviewed him on issues related to the COVID-19 vaccine.