At least 447 people reported adverse effects after receiving covid-19 vaccination, with the majority complaining of fever, headache, and nausea, according to the provisional data released on Sunday.
These are classed as adverse event following immunization (AEFI) and may not necessarily be related to the vaccine or the vaccination process.
Mass immunization began as infections continued to rise. In the last 24 hours, 15,144 daily cases were recorded, taking the total number of cases to 10.56 million, while the toll mounted to more than 153,00. Active cases numbered more than 208,000 on Sunday.
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India has granted emergency use authorization to two covid-19 vaccines, Pune-based Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd’s Covaxin, for the vaccination drive.
The government did not say if any adverse reactions were linked to a particular vaccine.
“A total of 447 AEFI have been reported so far. Out of these, three required hospitalization. Of these, one has been discharged from the Northern Railway Hospital in Delhi within 24 hours, one has been discharged from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, and one is under observation in AIIMS Rishikesh,” said Manohar Agnani, additional secretary, ministry of health and family welfare.
“Protocols are in place for reporting, immediate case management at vaccination session site, transportation and hospitalization and further care of such cases. Protocols are also in place for systematic investigation and causality assessment of serious AEFIs,” Agnani said. A total of 553 vaccination sessions were held in six states, Andhra Pradesh (308), Arunachal Pradesh (14), Karnataka (64), Kerala (1), Manipur (1), and Tamil Nadu (165), with 17,072 beneficiaries vaccinated on Sunday, the second day of the countrywide covid-19 vaccination programme.
“India has vaccinated the highest number of persons on the first day under its covid-19 vaccination programme, the world’s largest such exercise. Thisis much higher than many other countries including the US, the UK and France. A total of 224,301 beneficiaries have been vaccinated till Sunday according to the provisional report,” Agnani said.
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