What is the meaning of AEFI?
AEFI meaning. Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) is described as any undesirable medical event that occurs after vaccination and may or may not be related to the use of the vaccine. An undesirable event might be any negative or unexpected sign, odd test finding, symptom, or illness. AEFI is applicable to all vaccines on the market, making it extremely useful and efficient in monitoring recipients’ post-vaccination reactions.
Are There Any Side Effects Of AEFI?
AEFI has no side effects. In fact, we need to understand that each and every vaccine available around the world will have a certain degree of side effects on certain individuals. Not everybody will experience the side effects, but those who have may report their experience, unfavourable events to AEFI. Therefore, the AEFI will collect the reported data and cases, and reanalyse the safety of the particular vaccine, then announce it to the respective vaccine manufacturers. With this, vaccine manufacturers can further improve their vaccines and further reduce the risk of those adverse events, increasing the safety of vaccines for all recipients.
Why is AEFI Important?
People are becoming more concerned about the dangers connected with vaccinations as vaccine-preventable infectious illnesses continue to diminish. This situation is further exaggerated during the current COVID-19 pandemic, where Covid 19 vaccines are being distributed to every citizen. Furthermore, technical advancements and ever-increasing information about vaccinations have resulted in studies focusing on the safety of current vaccines, which have occasionally generated an atmosphere of worry.
Any unpleasant medical incident that occurs after vaccination and does not necessarily have a causal link with the use of the vaccine is referred to as an adverse event following immunisation. If not addressed quickly and properly, it can erode trust in a vaccine and have far-reaching repercussions for vaccination coverage and disease incidence.
Nevertheless, vaccine-related adverse effects may impact healthy people and should be reported as soon as possible to enable for more study and necessary response. WHO created a Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety to respond to vaccine safety problems in a prompt, efficient, and scientifically rigorous manner.
How does AEFI function?
The first step in ensuring that vaccine products are safe and are being delivered properly is effective spontaneous reporting of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI). Despite this, over half of the world’s population lives in nations that lack an efficient mechanism for monitoring vaccination safety.
Since severe responses to vaccination are fairly rare, numerous nations have banded together to share their AEFI data in a worldwide database. The WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring is in charge of the database. Most severe AEFI are not real vaccination responses, according to experience; rather, they are coincidental incidences of health problems or the anxiety connected with receiving a vaccine.
The objective is for all nations to have a system in place for spontaneous reporting of AEFI and for examining severe cases. Nations that produce vaccines, as well as countries where novel vaccines are being introduced, should have increased vaccine pharmacovigilance capability.
Safety Reminders
All significant AEFIs must be thoroughly investigated. The ultimate objective of an inquiry is to discover whether there is a causal relationship between a reported AEFI and the vaccines used or the immunisation procedure, or to uncover another reason. The investigation’s findings should lead to appropriate measures, when necessary, to prevent future AEFIs. Effective and effective treatment of AEFIs is a critical component of all immunisation programmes in order to maintain public trust in vaccination and, eventually, achieve high immunisation coverage and, as a result, reduce illness and mortality due to vaccine-preventable diseases.
WHO assists nation authorities in the investigation of significant AEFIs at the request of governments of Member States. WHO particularly collaborates with national authorities to ensure that significant AEFIs reported following the administration of WHO-prequalified vaccines are examined and effectively addressed.