How safe are covid vaccines? - Kiama Downs Medical Practice

Please arm yourself with the facts and protect you and your family from misinformation by reading this page in full.
We are here to help with any question you have.
We have given over 6000 vaccines since March 2021 so we have heard nearly every question there is to ask.

How do I book mine? Which one?

Please click here to find out which vaccine you can have and where to get it.
If you want to book your Pfizer and have Medicare you can book below.
Book my Pfizer Vaccine

If you are 18 years old, can’t have Pfizer and have Medicare you can book by calling 42377502.

The main risks?

We need 4 things to decide about vaccines.
Our risks of dying or getting sick from Covid 19.
And risks of dying or getting sick from vaccines.

What are my Covid 19 risks?

Your current risk depends on your: age, outbreak zone (click for a map), health conditions, home situation, and work.

Your future risk also depends on: how many cases are near you in the future.
Most countries have widespread Covid now and it is extremely likely that we will too by early 2022.

Tables below show what happened in Australia (until August 2021) for each age group.
(Reference 4, 5, 6 and 7 below).

Table 1. Odds of not surviving if you got Covid

Age	Odds
20 to 30	1 per	4400
30 to 40	1 per	1400
40 to 50	1 per	1000
50 to 60	1 per	270
60 to 70	1 per	70
70 to 80	1 per	10
80 to 90	1 per	3
90 to 100	1 per	2

Table 2. Odds of getting Covid
Odds are much worse in outbreak zones

Age	Odds
20 to 30	1 per	400
30 to 40	1 per	500
40 to 50	1 per	650
50 to 60	1 per	700
60 to 70	1 per	900
70 to 80	1 per	1000
80 to 90	1 per	600
90 to 100	1 per	250

Table 3. Odds of of getting Covid
AND not surviving
Odds are much worse in outbreak zones
This shows the chance in each age group that someone would get Covid 19 and not survive it.

Age	Odds
20 to 30	1 per	1,800,000
30 to 40	1 per	750,000
40 to 50	1 per	650,000
50 to 60	1 per	180,000
60 to 70	1 per	60,000
70 to 80	1 per	11,000
80 to 90	1 per	2,100
90 to 100	1 per	650

Are there Covid 19 cases near me?

Two maps are really important to check.
This is a live map of where people with Covid 19 have their home address (postcode only).
This is a live map of any contact locations (to check if you’ve been somewhere that someone with Covid 19 has been recently.

What are my vaccine risks?

Pfizer for 12 year olds and up (including adults)

Pfizer Covid 19 vaccines have not caused any knowns deaths in Australia (as at August 2021).
They can cause heart inflammation though (including myocarditis and pericarditis).
This is very rare and usually gets better within 2-8 weeks (Reference 2).
This can also happen if you get Covid without being vaccinated. If you get Covid the risk of heart inflammation is much higher then from Pfizer (Reference 3).

Table: Pfizer risk of heart inflammation average from age 12 and up
This mainly happens after the second dose

Age	Odds
Males; 12 to 29	1 per	25,000
Females; 12 to 29	1 per	250,000
Males; 30+	1 per	400,000
Females; 30+	1 per	1,000,000

New ATAGI Research for Pfizer 27th August from this article
Males 12 to 17 years old:
1st dose: 10 per million vaccines developed myocarditis/pericarditis
2nd dose: 67 per million vaccines
(0.1% after dose one and 0.2% after dose 2).
The same ATAGI article shows Covid 19 virus data for adolescents admitted to hospital due to illness severity (not just for isolation purposes).
It stated that from 1 January to 1 August 2021:
2.9% of Covid cases in Adolescents needed hospitalisation.
0.6% of Covid cases in Adolescents needed ICU admission.

Pfizer for children 5 to under 12 years old

What about side effects?
8.7million children 5 to under 12 years old had Pfizer Covid 19 vaccine in the US from November to December 2021 (source by clicking here)
Less then 1 in 2000 kids or parents reported any sort of side effect.
97% were minor; like fever, or fatigue or sore arms (common after most normal childhood vaccines)
Less than 1 in 750,000 kids had heart inflammation/myocarditis confirmed from the vaccine and have recovered or are recovering a few weeks later
Not a single child died as a result of the vaccine.

How did they find out if people had side effects?
8.7million kids had an SMS sent to their parents/carers asking them to report *anything at all* that they thought could be a side effect using an simple app.
Also, all side effects reported by doctors and nurses on the national US database were collected.

What could happen for my 5 to 11 year old if they don’t get vaccinated?

In 2021, before vaccines for this age group, Australia collected all the data for this age group (you can see it by clicking here).
1 died in this age group from 22,000 kids infected with Covid.
30 in every 2000 kids were hospitalised.
1 in every 2000 kids needed ICU care.

Moderna

This vaccine is coming to pharmacies and government hubs in September 2021.>
It has very similar risks and benefits to Pfizer.

Astrazeneca

Astrazeneca Covid 19 vaccines can cause TTS (a clot condition called Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome).
This happens in around 1 in 35,000 people under 50 years old and 1 in 100,000 people 50 years old and over.
The majority of people who get TTS from the vaccine survive with no long term problems.
TTS can also happen if you get Covid without being vaccinated. If you get Covid the risk of TTS is 10 times higher then from the vaccine!
Out of about 1 million people who are vaccinated with AstraZeneca, 1 can die (Reference 1).
Out of about 70,000 people who have had Covid, around 1,100 people have died already in Australia (September 2021).

Have more questions?

Read experts information online

Common questions and answers – click here.
Very detailed questions and answers – click here

Talk to your GP or nurse

If you are a current patient:
Call and book a bulk billed appointment with our nurse.
Book a normal GP appointment by clicking here.
If you are a new patient:
We would recommend you see your usual GP to discuss this, or book a new patient appointment with one of our GPs online by clicking here. A gap may apply.
OR Book with your GP or pharmacist

Call the hotline

Call 1800 020 080for any covid vaccine advice or general information

Look at our information online

A last thought

We hope this page has helped you.
This is only a starting point and you must discuss your risks and concerns with your GP or pharmacist to decide about your vaccination.
You can’t rely on information on this page since we don’t know about your exact medical conditions or situation.
When you are ready please book an appointment here or click the button below.
If you want to book your Pfizer vaccine right now click below.

Book my Pfizer Covid Vaccine

Best wishes