The deaths of nine health workers following administration of the Covid-19 vaccine in the 12 days since the start of the immunisation programme on January 16 is cause for concern. The government must immediately disclose all details of the investigations into these serious Adverse Events Following Immunisation and any action taken.
The deaths were reported from Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telengana, Gurugram and Odisha. The six men and three women who died were between 27 and 56 years old. The deaths took place between 24 hours and five days of taking the vaccines and all have been ascribed to cardiovascular problems or “brain stroke”. The vaccine taken in each case was Covishield.
In each case, the government has stated that the death was not due to the vaccine but has not revealed who made that determination and the details of the investigation.
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