Covid-19: Govt admits side-effects of vaccines in RTI reply

In a shocking revelation, Union government’s two top health watchdog bodies have admitted that there were side effects of coronavirus vaccines that were administered to over a billion Indians.

The Union government, however, on Tuesday termed the revelation as “ill-informed and erroneous”.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in an RTI reply to Pune businessman Prafful Sarda said there were multiple side-effects of Covid-19 vaccines.

In a specific query by Sarda on the side effects of all these jabs, ICMR’S PIO Dr Leyanna Susan George and CDSCO’s PIO Sushanta Sarkar have cited a plethora of ramifications arising out of all these vaccines comprising their FAQs.

In a specific query by Sarda on the side effects of all these jabs, ICMR’S PIO Dr Leyanna Susan George and CDSCO’s PIO Sushanta Sarkar have cited a plethora of ramifications arising out of all these vaccines comprising their FAQs, according to Pioneer. It said that due to Covishield vaccine, AEFIs like injection site tenderness or pain, multiple red spots or bruises beyond the injected site, persistent vomiting without reasons, severe or persistent abdominal pains or headaches with or without vomiting, shortness of breath, chest pains were reported.

India has given approval to five vaccines manufactured by AstraZenaca and Serum Institute of India, Pune’s Covishield and SII`s own Covovax; vaccines of three Hyderabad-based companies — the government-run Bharat Biotech Ltd.’s `Covaxin`, Dr. Reddy`s Lab imported ‘Sputnik V’, Biological E. Ltd.’s ‘CorBEvax’, and later, Cadila Healthcare Ltd., Ahmedabad’s ‘ZyCov-D’ only for teenagers (12-17 age).

Other adverse effects of Covishield were pain in limbs, weakness/paralysis of limbs of any particular side or parts of the body, including cranial nerves, unprecedented seizures, pain in eyes, blurred vision or diplopia, change in mental status, encephalopathy or depressed level of consciousness.

Covovax side-effects include injection site pain/tenderness/induration, fatigue, malaise, headaches, fever, soreness of muscles, joint pains, nausea or vomiting, chills, body ache or extreme pain in limbs, asthenia (weakness or lack of energy), injection site pruritus (itching, rash, red skin, hives), enlarged lymph nodes, back pains, and rarely dizziness or drowsiness, reported the paper.

Meanwhile, the Union health Ministry stated that the news report is “ill-informed and provides erroneous information”. “The ICMR response simply provided links of reputed websites of World Health Organization (WHO), Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India where compiled global evidence on various COVID-19 vaccines is available,” the ministry said.

-INDIA NEWS STREAM