• ENG

Vaccine side-effects will not result in death: AIIMS Director

Vaccine side-effects will not result in death: AIIMS Director

According to AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria, the main vaccine side-effects are body ache, fever and pain at injection site, which occur in less than 10 per cent of people and subside in 1-2 days.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : January 18, 2021 5:47 PM IST

Apprehensions about the Covid-19 vaccines seem to be rising amidst reports of adverse events post vaccination. The Union Health Ministry has confirmed 447 adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) that were reported during the first two days of the vaccination drive, which had commenced on January 16. Majority of the adverse events are minor in nature and they may or may not be related to the vaccination process, it said. Allaying apprehensions about the coronavirus vaccines, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria on Monday also assured that the side-effects will not result in death of the beneficiary.

"Even if a person takes Crocin or Paracetamol, they may develop allergic reactions. There is nothing to worry about. There is no side-effect which would result in death," IANS quoted Dr Guleria as saying.

According to Dr Guleria, the main vaccine side-effects are body ache, fever and pain at injection site, which occur in less than 10 per cent of people and subside in 1-2 days. If the side-effects are severe, there could be skin rashes, nausea, difficulty in breathing, he added.

Also Read

More News

Dr Guleria urged people to come forward and get vaccinated so that India can eliminate Covid-19 pandemic, decrease the mortality rate, bring the economy back on track and reopen schools.

Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the nationwide vaccination drive on January 16, Dr Guleria received the shot on live television. "I have no side-effects. I am feeling perfectly alright," he told the media on Monday, in a bid to allay the public's concerns about the safety of the coronavirus vaccines.

Reported adverse events post Covid-19 vaccination

A 46-year-old government hospital employee in Moradabad died on Sunday evening, 24 hours after receiving a Covid vaccine shot. It is now clear that his death is not due to Covid jab. The postmortem report of the man has revealed that the immediate cause of death was 'cardiogenic shock/septicemic shock' due to 'cardiopulmonary disease'. The district's Chief Medical Officer has also confirmed to media that his death is not related to vaccination.

Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain on Sunday said that there were 51 cases of minor complications post Day 1 vaccination in Delhi and only one had to be admitted to the hospital. A 22-year-old security guard who works at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was admitted in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit after he developed an allergic reaction.

Sources at the hospital told the media that the guard developed headache, rash, respiratory distress, and tachycardia after getting the Covid shot. The patient was kept in the ICU till Saturday night, but he is stable now, Jain told media on Sunday.

Total 1.91 lakh beneficiaries were inoculated on the first day of the vaccination drive on Saturday at 3,351 session sites across the country. On Sunday (Day 2), only 17,072 beneficiaries were vaccinated in six states. Together, 2,24,311 first beneficiaries have received doses of either Bharat Biotech's Covaxin or Serum Institute's Covishield in the last two days.

India aims to administer the vaccines to 3 crore people in the first phase and take the number to 30 crore in the second phase.

With agency inputs