News Analysis India

Tag: vaccine side effects

  • No scientific evidence shows link between Covid vaccine and infertility: Centre

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Covid vaccines do not cause infertility and the vaccines’ negative impact on fertility among people of reproductive age was a misconception, the Centre on Monday clarified.

    Such superstitions and myths have been reported from a section of healthcare workers and frontline workers, including the nurses, said the Union Health Ministry, adding that such misinformation and rumours were observed to be spreading in the community during the vaccination drives earlier too in case of polio and measles-rubella.

    None of the available vaccines affects fertility as all vaccines and their constituents are tested first on animals and later in humans to assess if they have any such side effects, said the ministry. The vaccines are authorized for use only after their safety and efficacy are assured, the ministry further said.

    “Furthermore, in order to curb the prevalent myth regarding infertility due to Covid vaccination, the Government of India has clarified that there is no scientific evidence suggesting Covid vaccination can cause infertility in men and women,” the government said.

    It added that the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid has recommended the vaccination for all lactating women, terming it as safe with no need to stop or pause breastfeeding before or after the vaccination.

  • Over 97% of those who took Covid-19 shots are satisfied with experience: Centre

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Feedback from beneficiaries of Covid-19 vaccines has shown that nearly 97% have been satisfied with the vaccination experience, the Centre said on Thursday. Madhya Pradesh was appreciated for achieving the highest vaccination coverage.

    In a press briefing on Thursday, the Centre said so far, a total of 45,93,427 doses of vaccines have been administered in the country and the second shots of vaccines will be administered beginning on February 13.

    “India has become the fastest nation to reach 4 million Covid-19 vaccinations. It took only 18 days to administer the first 4 million vaccines,” said Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

    He added: “While we are doing the immunization of healthcare and frontline workers across the country, we are using 1,239 private as vaccination session sites. At the same time, we are using 5,912 public hospitals as vaccination sites.”

    Explaining the feedback system, Bhushan said that a personalized SMS is being sent to all beneficiaries a day after vaccination, using the CoWin platform.

    “In all, 5,12,128 have responded and over 97% of them said they were satisfied with the vaccination experience,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Member of housekeeping staff at Jharkhand hospital dies two days after receiving COVID-19 vaccine

    As per the details shared, Madhya Pradesh ranks first in immunising the state’s healthcare workers and more than 73% of the targeted beneficiaries in the state have now taken the first dose of the vaccines, followed by Rajasthan where the coverage percentage is nearly 66.  

    However, among the large states, Tamil Nadu has the lowest Covid-19 vaccination coverage yet — at just about 23%.

    Beginning Wednesday, at least one state has started vaccinating frontline workers too, in addition to healthcare workers. As this stabilises, the third priority group — people above 50 — will too be immunised, officials said.

    “Within that group, there is a sub group of people above 60,” said the health secretary.  

    In response to a query, Bhushan asserted that there is a very structured and robust system of adverse event following immunisation monitoring in this country.

    “It has been further strengthened in view of Covid vaccination. We have 8,563 AEFIs so far, when we have done vaccination in lakhs. This is 0.18% of the total vaccinations,” he said.

    The official also underlined that the country’s 47 districts have not reported any new Covid cases in the last 3 weeks and 251 districts in the country have not registered any new death in the same period.

    Kerala and Maharashtra have 70% of the active cases, Bhushan further said, adding that the number of active cases in each state is over 35,000.

  • ‘Concerns about adverse events unfounded’: Centre says Covid vaccine hesitancy must end

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Low turnout of healthcare workers for Covid-19 vaccination has become a major worry for the Centre, top officials conceded on Tuesday.

    “The whole world is clamouring for a vaccine. If we still decline then it is a matter of sadness. … I will urge them (healthcare workers) to please endorse the vaccine. We have to start non-Covid services. Those who are fortunate to receive the vaccine should not refuse it,” said V K Paul, member (health), Niti Aayog who also heads the national task force on Covid-19.

    “A lot of efforts have gone into making the vaccines. If our healthcare workers, especially doctors and nurses are declining it (vaccination), then it’s very upsetting,” he added before making an impassioned appeal to healthcare workers to complete this “societal responsibility.”

    “We never know what form this pandemic could take, how big it could get, so please get vaccinated,” he said in a briefing on the Covid-19 outbreak response by the Union government.

    So far, nearly 6.31 lakh people have taken the jabs which are being offered only to healthcare workers in the first phase due to limited supply.

    Paul also reiterated that concerns about serious problems related to the two vaccines are unfounded and insignificant, referring to the Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

    “If there is an adverse effect, there are all preparations in place. But let me assure you that adverse events are not even taking place to a significant scale. The hesitancy about adverse effects among healthcare workers needs to end,” he said.

    “I request them to get vaccinated and please be a role model, motivate others. This vaccine hesitancy needs to end,” Paul underlined, adding vaccination is the only route that will “take us to the end of this calamity”.

    Till Monday a total of 580 cases of adverse reactions have been observed and seven had been hospitalised. However, the government said that adverse events following immunization (AEFIs) were only 0.18% of the total vaccinations, much lesser than what was being reported in several countries and very few of these were serious cases.

    The two deaths that have been recorded in people following vaccinations are unrelated to vaccines, the government has said.

    The Centre had set a target of vaccinating nearly 30 crore population by July this year which include healthcare and frontline workers, those above 50 years and people with serious comorbidities.

    It had also said that in the beginning nearly 100 people will be vaccinated at each of the 3,000 planned vaccination sites however less than 3 lakh people have been turning up to take jabs every day so far.

  • ‘Heart attack led to demise’: Doctors say UP ward boy’s death has no vaccine link

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The reason behind the death of the 46-year-old ward boy, who passed away 24 hours after the inoculation with the anti-Covid vaccine, was due to cardiac failure.

    His demise was in no way linked to any kind of vaccine-related adverse event, said state health officials here on Monday.

    The report of the autopsy, conducted by a panel of three doctors, said that a cardiac arrest was the cause of his death, Additional Chief Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal said.

    A section of media and the family of the ward boy had attributed his demise to the side effects of the vaccine.

    The panel of doctors, who conducted the autopsy included the medical officer of CHC Moodhapandey Dr. Shashi Bhushan, radiologist at district hospital (Moradabad) Dr. Nirmal Ojha, and radiologist at district women hospital (Moradabad) Dr. RP Mishra. Upon examination, the team found pus pockets in both the lungs and noted that the cardiac muscles had visibly degenerated.

    ALSO READ | Health worker dies in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad day after receiving COVID vaccine shot

    In their report submitted to the state health department, the panel inferred that the death was caused due to heart attack. They said that cardiopulmonary disease was the underlying cause of the heart attack. They also noted that Mahipal’s death was not linked to the vaccine’s side effects.

    Mahipal was administered the Covishield vaccine on the inaugural day of the vaccination drive on Saturday. He was rushed to the hospital on Sunday evening on complaints of ‘breathlessness, discomfort and chest pain’. However, on reaching the hospital, the ward boy was declared dead upon arrival.

    Mahipal’s family had claimed that he was feeling uneasy after the vaccination. However, state health officials did not relate it to the side effects. Taking note of the matter, the district administration had ordered the post-mortem examination. However, the panel of doctors has preserved the lung viscera for further testing along with samples of his lung, heart, and blood.

  • ‘Closely monitor adverse events’: Indian experts as 23 elderly people die after Covid shots in Norway

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: As 23 elderly people died in Norway after receiving Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, experts in India underlined the need to closely monitor adverse events on a day when a massive vaccination drive against coronavirus kicked off in the country.

    In Norway, where about 30,000 people have received the mRNA vaccine since the end of December, a cautionary advisory has now been issued against vaccinating elderly people above 80 years, saying those with a short remaining lifespan may not greatly benefit from the vaccine.

    The Scandinavian country has also said that Covid-19 vaccines may be too risky for the very old and terminally ill.

    As per the details available, of the 23 deaths — mostly in people over 80 years — reported shortly after vaccinations, 13 have been autopsied, and the results have suggested that that common side effects such as diarrhoea, fever, and nausea may have contributed to severe reactions in frail, elderly people.

    The Covid-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech was the first one to receive emergency use approval in the developed countries after showing the efficacy of over 95% in late-stage trials. International reports said that Pfizer and BioNTech are now working with the Norwegian authorities to investigate the deaths in Norway.

    Pfizer, however, said in a statement that the Norwegian regulator discovered “the number of incidents so far is not alarming and in line with expectations”.

    ALSO READ | Norway adjusts advice after COVID vaccine deaths but isn’t alarmed

    Meanwhile, experts back home said that such lessons from abroad could be particularly crucial for India where the number of beneficiaries is going to be much higher than most other countries in the world.

    “It would be important to closely monitor adverse events of special interest. AESI are a group of safety events that have been identified as important safety signals and a detailed mechanism for tracking, monitoring, and reporting have been listed in the WHO vaccine safety manual,” said public health expert Oommen John.

    “Knowing background rates of safety events is also very important to estimate if there are increased incidence of events are attributed to the vaccine or not.”

    A virologist with the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute said that minutely following adverse events though a proper mechanism was important in India as Covaxin, one of the vaccines rolled out, has not completed the trials.

    “Also, the platform used by Covishield is known to cause neurological disorders in very few people who get vaccinated—so it’s important to track what is the impact of vaccines in a real-world situation outside clinical trials,” he said.

    The Indian government has declared its intent to vaccinate those above 50 and others with serious comorbidities—numbering about 27 crore—once nearly 3 crore healthcare and frontline workers are immunised against Covid-19.