Vol 2, Issue 10 | Page 24

New Delhi: The Centre had recently released a report on the Adverse Effect From Immunisation (AEFI) detected so far from the population that has been vaccinated from COVISHIELD.

Government has claimed that since the COVID-19 vaccination drive was initiated more than 23,000 adverse events were reported through the CO-WIN platform from 684 districts of the country. Of these, 700 cases were reported to be serious and severe. The AEFI Committee’s in-depth case review of 498 serious and severe events found 26 cases to be potential thromboembolic (formation of a clot in a blood vessel that might also break loose and carried by the blood stream to plug another vessel)

However, in the absence of proper reporting mechanism and proactive approach of authorities to trace vaccinated people after they leave the vaccination site, such a claim may not be reflecting the true picture and full magnitude of AEFI and it is possible several cases of AEFI may be going unreported or undetected.

A troubled father reports here about the hardships he had to undergo for reporting the adverse effects on his son after undergoing vaccination......

He concludes .......

I have been hearing horror stories of people dying of cardiac arrest or other complications after vaccination. Two days back my sanitation staff came to me saying she will not get her son vaccinated because someone died in her neighbourhood soon after the vaccine dose. And all such things go unreported.....

It is important for the government to take AEFI tracking more seriously and aggressively as it is doing for vaccination.

Further listen to what all he suggests ..

People have to watch out for breathlessness, pain in chest, pain in limbs/pain on pressing limbs or swelling in limbs (arm or calf), multiple, pinhead size red spots or bruising of skin in an area beyond the injection site, persistent abdominal pain with or without vomiting, seizures in the absence of previous history of seizures with or without vomiting, severe and persistent headache with or without, weakness/paralysis of limbs or any particular side or part of the body, persistent vomiting without any obvious reason, blurred vision or pain in eyes or having double vision, change in mental status or having confusion or depressed level of consciousness, any other symptom or health condition which is of concern to the recipient or the family.