TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Amid increasing concern about the efficacy and safety of China's Wuhan coronavirus vaccines, the full list of the adverse side effects of the Sinopharm jab surfaced last week.

Shanghai-based vaccine expert Tao Lina (陶黎納) on Jan. 4 uploaded to Weibo a digital version of the manual for BBIBP-CorV, an inactivated vaccine produced by China National Biotec Group (CNBG), a subsidiary of China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (Sinopharm). In his post, he described the vaccine as the "most unsafe vaccine in the world" due to its 73 local and systemic adverse reactions.

However, the post was deleted on Jan. 5 by China's censors "due to violation of regulations." On Thursday (Jan. 7), Tao apologized and claimed that foreign media had mistaken his sarcastic joke about the vaccine instructions for real criticism and pledged to set an example by taking two doses himself.

Tan's original Weibo post listing side effects. (Weibo screenshot)

The instructions for the vaccine rate the adverse reactions based on the standard set by the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences, with the categories very common, common, uncommon, rare, and very rare. A total of 75 adverse side effects are listed, but because "headache" and "eye pain" are listed twice, the actual number is 73. The following is a translation of the instructions posted by Tan and published by hk01 on Jan. 6.

Local reactions

First, for local reactions at the vaccination site, under very common it lists headache. For common, it lists flush, swelling, scleroma, rash, and itching. Under uncommon, it lists erythema.

Systemic adverse reactions

Second, for systemic adverse reactions, it starts by listing headache under very common. For common, it lists fever, fatigue, muscle ache, joint pain, cough, difficulty breathing, nausea, diarrhea, and itchy skin,

Under uncommon, it lists dizziness, loss of appetite, vomiting, oropharyngeal pain, difficulty swallowing, runny nose, constipation, and hypersensitivity. For rare, it lists acute allergic reaction, lethargy, drowsiness, difficulty sleeping, sneezing, nasopharyngitis, nasal congestion, dry throat, influenza, hypoesthesia, limb pain, palpitations, stomach ache, rash, skin and mucous membrane abnormalities, acne, eye pain, ear discomfort, and lymphadenopathy.

Lastly, under very rare, it lists chills, dysgeusia (distortion of the sense of taste), loss of taste, feeling abnormal, tremors, difficulty paying attention, nose bleeds, asthma, throat irritation, tonsillitis, limb discomfort, neck pain, jaw pain, neck lumps, mouth ulcers, toothache, esophageal disease, gastritis, discoloration of stool, eye pain, blurred vision, eye irritation, vision loss, earache, nervousness, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, urinary incontinence, and delayed menstruation.

Employee answering questions from public near samples of COVID-19 vaccine produced by Sinopharm subsidiary. (AP photo)

(Weibo image)

(Weibo image)