Doctors assure vaccine risk is not high, EU suspension is out of precaution

16-03-2021

Europe's vaccination drive has suffered a major disruption, on concerns over blood clotting in Astrazeneca's vaccine recipients. But India's medical fraternity is asking people to not panic, and instead, trust our own healthcare advice and analysis. There is a real risk that the developments in Europe could make people in India averse to Covishield. This is the same Astrazeneca vaccine under the spotlight in the EU over clotting episodes. But doctors back home are confident that the concerns are largely arising out of caution, more than any real scare. Dr Hemant Thacker of Breach Candy Hospital said, "India rolled out Covishield after much deliberation, and so far there has been no data that shows instances of clotting in those who've been vaccinated are more common than without vaccination." "In fact, he added that India's profile of side effects due to Covid vaccination has been satisfyingly low." Even Dr Rahul Pandit, Director of Critical Care, Fortis Hospital said that there has been no reason for alarm arising out of India's vaccination drive. He cited that out of nearly 22 million, the EU has witnessed about 22 cases of thromboembolism - the medical term for the blockage of blood vessels due to clotting. Dr Pandit added that India must counter the vaccine hesitation arising out of this panic in Europe. We should survey the people who have been vaccinated, and publish data to dispel fear and concerns, he added. Earlier this year, Pfizer's mRNA-based Covid vaccine too was under fire, after deaths were reported in some countries. Even Bharat Bio's Covaxin faced challenges in the initial days leading up to the EUA.