The New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority (Medsafe) is asking eyecare professionals (ECPs) to report any ocular conditions that may be associated with a Covid-19 vaccination and has issued a new reporting form to simplify the process.

Medsafe stressed the importance of reporting all suspected adverse events. Thorough reporting will “add to the information already known about the safety profile of each vaccine, act as an early warning system for the identification of previous unrecognised or rare side effects and support regulators across the globe sharing emerging anonymised safety data,” it said in a recent Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board (ODOB) article. Importantly, in reporting an event, ECPs do not need to be certain that the vaccine was the cause, Medsafe stressed.

The new online reporting form includes Covid-19 vaccine selections, tick boxes for specific adverse events following immunisation and space to add an assessment of each reaction’s level of severity. The tool also supports the addition of supplementary documents, including blood test results or images, and has a PDF report function for record keeping.

New Zealand’s optometry workforce has also been called upon to help administer the jab. ODOB chair Jayesh Chouhan said there are a number of optometrists scattered across the country currently in the process of becoming authorised Covid vaccinators. “It’s great to see optometrists thinking about the greater public good and I encourage those who are able to, to consider this opportunity.”  

The adverse events reporting form is available at: www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/adverse-event-reporting-form.asp