NEW DELHI: Amid concerns that breakthrough Covid-19 infections and risk of severe disease despite vaccinations may be much higher than the results from clinical trial data, the Centre on Monday maintained that it had kept a close watch on such incidents. “The risk of infection in the recipients of Covid-19 vaccines is much lesser (than the unvaccinated population) but there is a small chance that a tiny fraction of people can get the infection despite the vaccinations as vaccines are not 100% efficacious,” said Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
There is one more advantage of the vaccines that even those who get the infection despite the shots, will likely not get the severe disease and recovery will be faster, said Agarwal. VK Paul, member health, Niti Aayog, said that ICMR is keeping a record of breakthrough infections. “As said earlier, breakthrough infections are rare but in a dynamic situation we should watch it carefully,” he said.
“But we should remember that vaccine recipients are protected to (only) a certain level and therefore in an overwhelming situation, risk remains and therefore all are requested to continue taking precautions.”
The response comes on a day the Indian Medical Association released a list of 269 doctors who have died in India during the second wave of the pandemic, the highest deaths reported from Bihar (78) and UP (37), followed by Delhi (29).
Though the association has not made the vaccination status available of each of the doctors who have died, its office bearers said many of them had taken either both or at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
Sixty-three-year-old K K Agarwal, leading cardiologist in the national capital and former IMA president who succumbed to the infectious disease on Tuesday, for instance, had also completed his two doses of vaccination schedule, as per association sources.
Last month, ICMR director general Balram Bhargava had said that breakthrough infection rates seen in India were thus far negligible, with only two to four infections reported per 10,000 inoculations. He, however, had not elaborated whether or how many of these infections led to severe disease or deaths.
Many experts have pointed out that this data collection by the ICMR has been patchy and delayed and may not be giving the actual picture on breakthrough infections and severe disease despite vaccinations.