VIJAYAWADA: Out of seven beneficiaries, who died after being administered Covid-19 vaccine since the drive began on January 16 in the State, the medical and health officials said they are yet to confirm whether five of them died due to Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) or not. However, it was confirmed that the two remaining deaths were not related to AEFI.
“As per the preliminary reports of two beneficiaries, the deaths were due to some other ailments and not a reaction to Covid vaccine. The reports of five beneficiaries are awaited. We had conducted post-mortem on the bodies since we suspected that their death might be due to AEFI,” Dr Geetha Prasadhini, Director of Medical and Health, told TNIE. Forensic lab experts said the first two deaths did not occur within the first 30 minutes after vaccination, but were reported after a few days, she said.
140 AEFI cases reported in State so far, say officials
“Based on the post-mortem reports and other medical tests, the experts concluded that immunisation was not the reason, but some other medical ailments were the cause of the deaths,” Dr Prasadhini said.
The reports of the five deceased patients will be received after 10 days as the tests conducted to confirm if they are AEFI deaths is a lengthy process, she informed. The seven deaths reported so far are from Kurnool, Guntur, Anantapur, Krishna and Chittoor districts.
Meanwhile, the director also informed that apart from the seven deaths, the State has reported approximately 140 AEFI cases. “These 140 people reported minor complaints such as dizziness, headache, vomiting. They were discharged from the AEFI observation room on the same day. Only a few of them needed to be hospitalised and were discharged the next day after conducting tests,” Dr Prasadhini said.
The health department is keeping track of the health condition of these 140 people since the day they were vaccinated. “We have taken their contact details and are monitoring their health condition by calling them up daily. A few are yet to take their second shot. We are keeping track of such people for a week until they take their second dosage.”