Ask the Doc: 'I'm feeling anxious about the Covid vaccine, how can I be sure that this is safe?'

NHS Scotland will only use a vaccine if it meets the required standards of safety and effectiveness. All medicines, including vaccines, are tested for safety and effectiveness before they’re allowed to be used. The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has to assess all the data and also ensure a vaccine works and that all the necessary trials and checks have been completed.

It will study:

• lab and clinical trial results

• manufacturing and quality controls

• product sampling

• testing of the final product.

This will be done as quickly as possible without cutting corners, because the COVID-19 vaccines are a priority. The MHRA will only approve a vaccine for supply in the UK if the expected standards of safety, quality and efficacy are met.

The MHRA will also seek advice from another independent body, the Commission on Human Medicines. The safety of the vaccines continues to be checked while in use.

The COVID-19 vaccine does not cause COVID-19. It helps to build up your immunity to the virus, so your body will fight it off more easily if it affects you. This can reduce your risk of developing COVID-19 or, if you do get COVID-19, it can make the symptoms milder. The vaccine is also suitable for people with disorders of the immune system.

The effectiveness and immune response of the vaccine is being monitored as the vaccine is rolled out.

For the latest advice and details about the vaccine roll-out, visit www.nhsinform.scot or go to the Scottish Government’s website at www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/

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