Adverse events only in 0.18% of cases, says government

NEW DELHI: Seeking to allay fears about adverse events following immunisation against Covid-19, the government said such events were reported in only 0.18% of people who had received the vaccine, whereas merely a small fraction were hospitalised, which is far less than the global average.

“Concerns about adverse events following immunisation are unfounded, insignificant and negligible. We are in a situation of a lot of comfort. These two vaccines are safe. There is no undue reactogenicity,” said Niti Aayog member-health Dr V K Paul, who also heads the national expert group on vaccine administration for Covid-19.

Underlining that India has a robust system for surveillance and management of adverse events, health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said even anxiety or hysteria after vaccination is recorded as AEFI though it may subside after a few minutes.

India has so far vaccinated 6,31,417 beneficiaries in the last four days since Saturday. Comparing India’s vaccination status with other countries, the government said India has immunised far more people than any other country, including the US, UK, France and Russia. While nearly 5.6 lakh beneficiaries were vaccinated in the US, India has crossed that in just three days, Bhushan said.

“The whole world is clamouring for a vaccine. If we still decline then it is a matter of sadness... I’ll urge 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,” Paul said. The Centre has asked states like Punjab, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu with less than 40% vaccine coverage to take steps to ramp up the number of sessions.