In order to improve confidence in the vaccines, the Center has agreed to publish the results of the probes in all severe adverse effects following immunization (AEFI) of Covid-19 from next week because of the reduction in recipients’ reactions so far.
Five deaths have been reported since the rollout of the vaccine a week ago, but their AEFI reports linked them to co-morbidity and not to the vaccine. But the deaths seem to have worsened healthcare workers’ vaccine hesitancy. The official from the Ministry of Health said: “It’s an effort to strengthen contact with the target groups and build confidence.
A member of the ethics panel of the ICMR said that there will be more deaths of this kind as the rollout progresses, particularly for those in the 70s and 80s. “These deaths must be captured because there is a rigorous AEFI tracking mechanism,” he said.
“In all age groups, there is a background rate of death—U-shaped curvature that is high from 0 to 1 years and drops the lowest in age 20 to 40 and then increases dramatically in the older age group after 40 years of age. All of these deaths among vaccine beneficiaries will be compensated by the AEFI scheme,” it added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday he went through the vaccine deployment decision, adding that it wasn’t a political appeal and obliquely referring to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin controversy over the node.
