Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Virgin Islanders told to report medicine side-effects, reactions

Virgin Islanders told to report medicine side-effects, reactions

The Virgin Islands (VI) Ministry of Health and Social Development is encouraging persons to report suspected side effects of medicines as the VI joins over 80 countries in observing med safety week from November 7 to 13, 2022.

Chief of Drugs and Pharmaceutical Services, Mrs. Gracia Wheatley-Smith said the week’s focus will centre around the promotion of pharmacovigilance and reporting.

Mrs. Wheatley-Smith said medicines help but they can also harm, therefore, it is important that all users of pharmaceuticals monitor themselves closely when using prescription medicines and report any experienced side or adverse reactions.

She also noted that regulators operate systems to detect and analyse reported side effects and use this information to implement actions that can prevent harm to future patients.

The Chief of Drugs said a side effect is ‘any unintended effect of a pharmaceutical related to the pharmacological properties of the drug’ and an adverse drug reaction (ADR) is ‘a response to a medicine which is harmful, very unpleasant and unintended, and which occurs at doses normally used in man’.


Chief of Drugs and Pharmaceutical Services, Mrs. Gracia Wheatley-Smith said the week’s focus will centre around the promotion of pharmacovigilance and reporting.

Side effects can be reported via email or telephone

The community is urged to report any side effect or ADR to the Chief of Drugs and Pharmaceutical Services via telephone at 468-9850 or email at grwheatley-smith@gov.vg.

“These experiences, Mrs. Wheatley-Smith said can be fatal, life-threatening, permanently and significantly disabling, may require a hospital visit or may prolong hospitalization, can cause congenital anomaly and may require intervention to prevent permanent impairment or damage.

According to the Chief of Drugs, reporting side effects and ADRs help to improve the safety of medicines for all users and in some cases can result in better-tailored prescribing advice by doctors.

“By reporting side effects and ADRs patients will be actively participating in identifying emerging safety issues with medicines, so that the ministry can take actions when necessary and protect you and others from harm,” Mrs. Wheatley-Smith said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
×