Health officials in the US have identified a possible link between the updated coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech and a type of brain stroke in the elderly.
The Pfizer-BioNTech messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine — the original version of which was first approved by US medical regulators in August 2021 — has been one of the world's most effective and widely used shots.
Here we look at the evidence available and consider what medical experts in the UAE and internationally are saying in the light of recent findings.
What are the safety concerns?
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, commonly referred to as the CDC, and the Food and Drug Administration have identified what could be an increased risk of ischaemic strokes in people 65 and older who have had one of Pfizer’s updated boosters or bivalent shots.
The latter protect against more than one form of the coronavirus, in this case the original strain plus the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.
Ischaemic strokes are, according to the UK’s National Health Service, the most common type, which develop when a clot blocks blood flow in arteries leading to the brain.
The CDC’s vaccine database indicates that over-65s could face an increased risk of this type of stroke in the three weeks immediately after being given the updated shot, compared to the subsequent three-week period.
The organisations said they wanted to share the information with the public even though it was "very unlikely" the possible link to strokes "represents a true clinical risk".
Subsequent analysis of other vaccine databases have not highlighted an increased risk of strokes with the bivalent Pfizer-BioNTech shot.
What do US authorities say?
The CDC stated that "no change in vaccination practice is recommended", with the potential safety risks said to be heavily outweighed by the benefits of inoculation.
"CDC continues to recommend that everyone six months of age and older stay up-to-date with Covid-19 vaccination; this includes individuals who are currently eligible to receive an updated (bivalent) vaccine," a CDC statement said.
"Staying up-to-date with vaccines is the most effective tool we have for reducing death, hospitalisation and severe disease from Covid-19, as has now been demonstrated in multiple studies conducted in the United States and other countries."
The two companies behind the vaccine, the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the German biotechnology firm BioNTech, also insisted their product was safe.
"There is no evidence to conclude that ischaemic stroke is associated with the use of the companies' Covid-19 vaccines," a joint statement said.
Officials said there was no evidence that the updated form of another mRNA Covid-19 shot, produced by Moderna, was linked to an increased risk of strokes.
What do doctors say?
Doctors in Dubai also said the benefits of vaccination outweighed the risks, but that high-risk patients with hypertension and heart ailments should be aware.
“Only time will prove what is the efficacy and what are the secondary complications of the vaccines,” Dr Sanjay Paithankar, head of the Right Health group, which has more than 58 medical clinics in the UAE, told The National.
He said the data on increased instances of stroke could not be correlated directly to the use of the vaccines and could be linked to the disease itself.
“There is no need to panic,” Dr Paithankar said. “It will be difficult to prove that the incidents are correlated to use of the vaccine. Only time will tell.
“But yes, the benefits outweigh any risks. The vaccines have saved humanity, people would have been wiped out without vaccines.”
What other health risks have been linked to Covid-19 shots?
The health benefits of vaccination against Covid-19 heavily outweigh the risks, but there have been other concerns linked to some shots.
There have been reports of a small number of adults under 45 having an ischaemic stroke in the month after they received the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 drug, which is a viral vector vaccine, not an mRNA.
That shot has also been associated with a small number of cases in which people suffered blood clots and a different type of stroke, mostly affecting veins in the brain.
The mRNA inoculation has also been linked to a limited numbers of cases in which young people, mostly boys and young men, experienced myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, or pericarditis, an inflammation of the outer lining of the heart.
Patients usually responded well to treatment and when the link emerged, the CDC did not recommend changes to vaccination.
With the latest issue, the CDC and the FDA will continue to evaluate data and the issue will be discussed at a meeting of the FDA’s vaccines and related biological products advisory committee next Thursday.
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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