Not a single treatment or medical procedure is risk-free. Completely risk-free are not even the vaccines. In comparison with other health risks that life may bring, the vaccines are very safe. If you do not get vaccinated, you risk a possibility of suffering from Covid-19 disease, which may lead up to long-term health issues or even death. In comparison with Covid-19, the risk connected with vaccine application is minimal.  

  All vaccine trials follow safety rules and strictly controlled processes run by agencies such as the European Medicine Agency (EMA) or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pfizer and Moderna in their trials followed all the rules set for vaccine validation. In the USA it is not possible to use vaccines without FDA permission and in the EU without permission from EMA. For these vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna have received emergency approval from the FDA and EMA. Pfizer and Moderna had to demonstrate that the benefits of their vaccines outweigh any risks. These vaccines are being tested by tens of thousands of people and caused only minor side effects. These vaccines are being tested in a large sample of various ethnic, racial, and age groups. That is the way how to manage the safety of use for adults across a wide age range, races and health conditions. These studies have been conducted not only by scientists from the USA and Europe but also by people from all around the world.   

The data from these studies were reviewed by an independent group of experts. These experts (in the fields of virology, biostatistics, ethics and public health) do not work for pharmaceutical companies (neither for any competing company) nor for the government. The independence of experts is very strictly controlled. These independent experts are the ones who recommend to the EMA and the FDA whether the vaccine should be approved or not.

Author of the original text:  Prof. RNDr. Zdeněk Hel, Ph.D.

Summary in 15 seconds can be found on Youtube channel.