KOCHI: Indian College of Cardiology, Kerala chapter, in a statement has encouraged all cardiac patients to take Covid vaccination at the earliest. ‘All the approved vaccines in India are safe and effective in preventing severe disease and death due to Covid while it also has side effects like blood clots and inflammation of the heart rarely,” says Dr K P Balakrishnan, President, ICC Kerala chapter.
The interval between doses varies among vaccines- Covishield needs a minimum interval of 12 weeks between doses whereas Covaxin needs only 4 weeks. Patients are advised to follow the instructions given at the vaccination centre.
Those on newer anticoagulants like dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, can skip one dose of medicine on the previous day of vaccination. Cardiac patients on antiplatelet medications like aspirin, clopidogrel, ticagrelor etc. can receive vaccination safely without any modification of medications. Other than hypersensitivity to vaccines, there are no absolute contraindications to receive covid vaccines for cardiac patients. Indian College of Cardiology also urges all pregnant women whether cardiac patients or not, to get covid vaccines at the earliest, considering bad outcomes observed with covid during pregnancy.