New Delhi: The COVID-19 vaccination is on at full swing in India. So far more than 35 lakh healthcare and frontline workers have been vaccinated. It should be stated here that so far 11 persons have died after being vaccinated by the COVID-19 jab. So a number of health experts have written a letter to the Union Health Ministry. In it they have demanded that the cause of the deaths of the healthcare and frontline workers should be properly investigated. The reasons for the death after COVID-19 vaccination should be made public, they said.
Among the well-known health experts are Malini Aisola, SP Kalantri and T Jacob John. They have said a thorough investigation must be done to ascertain the reasons behind so many deaths.
“The district or state officials have stated that none of the deaths are related to the vaccine. However, the reports of the district, state and National Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) Committees on the assessment of these deaths and other serious AEFIs have not been released,” the health experts have said in the letter.
“No details of who investigated the deaths, and the methodology used for each investigation, have been made public. The national committee has an obligation to investigate possible patterns in causative factors for these deaths,” the letter further stated.
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“We would like to bring to your notice that the 11 deaths meet the WHO’s definition of a ‘cluster’ of serious AEFIs as given in its COVID-19 vaccines: safety surveillance manual — ‘when two or more AEFIs related in time, place or by vaccine occur’. (1) Guidelines for investigation of cluster AEFIs are given in the WHO’s global manual for surveillance of adverse events following immunisation. (2) AEFIs must be investigated urgently in order to issue warnings to people who should not take it due to contraindications, to correct errors, to reassure the public, as well as to identify potential serious problems in the vaccine,” the letter stated.
“The algorithm for cluster AEFI investigation can rule out errors in manufacturing or administration, anxiety clusters, and coincidental events, to identify signals for further investigation,” the letter further said.
