Centre acknowledges one 'vaccine product related' death in India; busts related 'myths'

The Union Government on Tuesday clarified that deaths & hospitalisation after vaccination could not be immediately attributed to the inoculation process until it was investigated & inferred to be so by the Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) committee. Refuting media reports from certain quarters which claimed India had witnessed 488 deaths related to post-COVID complications after vaccinations between 16 January & 7 June, the Centre categorically stated that the number of deaths reported following COVID vaccination in the country was only 0.0002% of 23.5 crore doses administered which was within the expected death rates in a population.

The MoHFW release dated June 15 further noted that the mortality rates for those testing positive for COVID was more than 1% and that vaccination can prevent these deaths and therefore, termed the risk of dying following vaccination as negligible in comparison to succumbing to COVID. It also noted that doctors, nurses, frontline workers had been encouraged to report all deaths, hospitalizations and events resulting in disability as well as any minor and adverse events following immunization at any point of time after vaccination.

National AEFI Committee acknowledges first death due after COVID vaccination

The statement issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare comes after the National AEFI Committee-approved casualty assessment details of 31 reported cases of serious Adverse Events Following Immunization confirmed that one person had died after being diagnosed with Anaphylaxis and whose case was classified as 'vaccine product related'.

The death, as per the National AEFI Committee-approved report, was a 68-year-old male who was vaccinated (COVISHIELD) on March 8 and died due to Anaphylaxis. The case was approved by the National AEFI Committee on March 31. Two other similar cases were reported, a 21-year old female and a 22-year old male who were also diagnosed with Anaphylaxis, but were hospitalised and recovered. Their cases have also been classified under the vaccine product-related category. 

As per Union Health Ministry's release dated June 4, 18 of the 31 cases were classified as having an inconsistent causal association to vaccination (coincidental - not linked to vaccination), 7 were classified as indeterminate, 3 cases were found to be vaccine product related, 1 was anxiety-related reaction and 2 cases were found to be unclassifiable.

Vaccine product-related reactions, as the Health Ministry's release, are described as the 'expected reactions that can be attributed to vaccination based on current scientific evidence. Examples of such reactions are allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, etc.' 

As per data in the first week of April, the reporting rate is 2.7 deaths per million vaccine doses administered and 4.8 hospitalisations per million vaccine doses administered, the report stated.