NEW DELHI: The Covid vaccines protected hospitalised patients and prevented deaths, according to the latest findings of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study based on hospital records. “COVID-19 vaccine, irrespective of its type, reduced the odds of dying by 50 percent with one dose and by 60 percent with two doses,” said the study, which analysed around 30,000 patients in 42 hospitals, deep diving into records between September 1, 2020, and October 26, 20211. The study said around 4000 patients (14.5 percent) had died, while 23,294 (85.5 percent) were discharged. Out of 3,957 patients who died, 86 percent passed away within 14 days.
“More than half of the admitted patients (15922, 54 percent) required oxygen support during their hospital course, while 2307 (7.8 percent) required mechanical ventilation,” said the study, which among its writers included former ICMR head Prof Balram Bhargava and Dr Samiran Panda, Additional Director General, ICMR and Head - Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases.
The study also said that a marked increase is noticeable in the use of steroid, oxygen supplementation and remdesivir in May 2021, coinciding with the 2nd wave of the pandemic in India, which was dominated by the Delta variant.
The use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) considerably declined after September 2020, while the use of convalescent plasma has been low throughout, the study added. The study’s results showed that odds of dying were significantly high in patients with a mean age of 60 having chronic diseases.