THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Debunking the popular notion that Covid-19 vaccinations have led to an increase in deaths among young adults, state government data shows no significant change in the death rate in the 35-44 age group between 2019 and 2023.
Mortality rates in this group have remained relatively consistent, at 3.30% in 2019 and at 3.13% and 3.23% in the post-vaccination years of 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Reports of heart attack in young people, often attributed to the side effects of the vaccine, appear to be unfounded. The data does not support any correlation between vaccinations and death rate in this age group.
While there have been no substantial studies on premature deaths in the state, the available mortality data confirms health experts’ claims that the vaccines are safe. In Kerala, 1,29,45,396 individuals aged 18-44 have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, of which 1,08,60,254 went on to complete the second dose.
The death of youngsters, especially when it occurs suddenly and without an obvious cause during work or workouts often attracts public attention. However, health experts dismiss the assumptions linking such deaths to the vaccine.
“The tendency is to attribute any young person’s death to the vaccine. It is also wrong to assume that vaccine-related risks persist. There is evidence that vaccination can cause some issues in young people, but these cases are extremely rare, and the mortality rate reflects that,” said Dr V Ramankutty, an epidemiologist and emeritus professor at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology.
Dr B Ekbal, public health activist and head of the expert panel advising the state on Covid and elderly vaccination, affirms that Covishield is one of the safest vaccines available.
“The death rate is likely to remain steady or increase as there are several reasons for people in the age group to die. They are at risk of death due to non-communicable and infectious diseases. People should be discussing poor diabetes control, obesity and post-Covid issues instead of vaccines which were rolled out long ago,” he said.
Experts agree that premature deaths should be thoroughly investigated to determine their true causes. While vascular diseases have been the primary cause of death since 1995, cardiologists indicate that there has been no significant increase in heart disease cases among young people since the pre-Covid period.
‘Vaccine-related complications extremely rare’
“The number of young patients visiting hospitals for heart-related issues has not dramatically increased. Vaccine-related complications are extremely rare, and the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks,” said Dr Harikrishnan S, professor and head of the cardiology department at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST).
A multi-centre study by the National Institute of Epidemiology in 2023 also found no increased risk of unexplained sudden deaths among individuals aged 18-45 years after receiving Covid vaccinations.
The state began administering Covishield and later Covaxin from January 13, 2021.