Depending on predisposing conditions, few may suffer severe adverse events: Health Ministry on vaccination side effects

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in a statement, said on Tuesday that suffering adverse effects of COVID vaccines would be limited to 'few people' who 'may experience severe adverse events'.

New Delhi:Refuting the reports of multiple side-effects of COVID-19 vaccines, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday reiterated that rarely, few people who get vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines may experience severe adverse events depending upon certain predisposing conditions. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, a recent media report has claimed that ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) and CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organization) have admitted to 'multiple side-effects of COVID-19 vaccines' in response to an RTI query.

The report stated that ICMR and CDSCO officials have cited a plethora of ramifications arising out of all the COVID vaccines. "It is clarified that the news report is ill-informed and provides erroneous information," said the Union Health Ministry statement.

The statement further noted that in line with the policy of proactive disclosure followed by the MoHFW in line with 'global scientific evidence in public domain', "ICMR provided responses to questions of RTI related to the advantages and disadvantages of COVID-19 vaccines. The ICMR response simply provided links to reputed websites of the World Health Organization (WHO), Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India where compiled global evidence on various COVID-19 vaccines is available."

As is the case with all other vaccines, the Health Ministry said those who get vaccinated with different COVID-19 vaccines may experience mild symptoms like injection site tenderness, pain, headache, fatigue, myalgia, malaise, pyrexia, chills, arthralgia etc. Rarely, few individuals may experience severe adverse events depending upon certain predisposing conditions, it also added.

The health ministry also observed that as per global studies, COVID-19 vaccines are displayed to have reduced the severity of the disease by preventing both hospitalizations and death occurring due to COVID 19, adding that benefits from the vaccine "overwhelmingly outweigh any adverse effects." In India, NTAGI (National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization) has periodically reviewed the benefits and side effects of COVID-19 vaccines used in India and has endorsed the above findings, it also said.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 220.17 crore total COVID-19 vaccine doses, including 95.14 crore second doses and 22.46 crore precaution doses, have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.