44-yr-old man in Bengaluru tests positive after taking China-made Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine
The man came to Guwahati to meet his family and took an RT-PCR test before catching his flight back to Dubai. Though the report was negative, the airline asked him for a permit from Dubai govt.
Published: 02nd April 2021 12:22 PM | Last Updated: 02nd April 2021 12:22 PM | A+A A-
For representational purposes (Photo | PTI)
BENGALURU: A 44-year-old Indian sales representative working in Dubai, who took both doses of the China-made Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine there, tested positive after his arrival in Bengaluru this week.
He received his first dose on January 31st and the second one on February 25th abroad. He came to Guwahati to meet his family and took an RT-PCR test before catching his flight back to Dubai.
The report turned negative. However, the airline asked him for a permit from the Dubai government, which he did not have, so he missed his flight on March 27. His relatives in Bengaluru found a different airline company operating direct flights to Dubai, without requiring any approval from the Dubai government, so he flew down here on the same day.
"As his first RT-PCR test was 72 hours old, we ordered for a swab collection from home to get him rechecked. To our surprise, it turned positive on March 29. He was asymptomatic, without any temperature or drop in oxygen levels," said his relative, on condition of anonymity,
They decided to do a second test to rule out any false positives, but the second RT-PCR test too turned positive on March 30. He has been isolated in a separate home and as per Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike rules, he will remain in quarantine for 14 days. He is under no medication or treatment as he does not have any symptoms and his relatives are ensuring COVID protocols are followed.
On Wednesday, Chinese pharma companies Sinopharm and Sinovac presented data on their COVID-19 vaccines, "indicating levels of efficacy that would be compatible with those required by the World Health Organization" as per Alejandro Cravioto, the chair of a WHO advisory panel
The United Arab Emirates which approved the Sinopharm vaccine on December 9, 2020 said the vaccine was 86% effective, according to interim results of its phase three trial.
However, Sinopharm announced on December 30, 2020 that phase three trials of the vaccine showed that it had 79% efficacy. Earlier in March both Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Dr. Arif Alvi tested positive, days after taking the first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine.
