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Written question asked by Charlotte Nichols (Labour) on Monday, 10 November 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 12 November 2025. It was answered by Zubir Ahmed (Labour) on Thursday, 20 November 2025 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how often the database of AstraZeneca covid vaccine side effects has been updated in each year since 2020.

Answer

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for monitoring all authorised medicines and vaccines in the United Kingdom, including the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, on an ongoing basis to ensure their benefits continue to outweigh any risks. This monitoring strategy is continuous, proactive, and based on a wide range of information sources, including reports of adverse events and rare side effects retrieved from the Yellow Card Database. A dedicated team of assessors reviews this information on a weekly basis to look for safety issues or unexpected, rare events.

The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine no longer has an active market authorisation in the UK, since 2024. Consequently, no additional research activities have been undertaken beyond the ongoing monitoring of reported suspected adverse events through the Yellow Card Scheme. The most recent data extraction of spontaneous suspected adverse reactions reported via the Yellow Card Scheme was conducted on 20 September 2025. Further information is available at the following link:

https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/idaps/CHADOX1%20NCOV-19

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
88864
Session
2024-26
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Databases Coronavirus Vaccination Side effects AstraZeneca
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk