KASARGOD: A young woman, who suffered severe brain bleeding after the first dose of Covishield jab, died on Tuesday, six days after surgery. Doctors conducted the prescribed lab tests and concluded that the haemorrhage was not related to the immunisation.
C Ranjitha, 22, — an ITI student and resident of Vavadukkam in Bedadka panchayat — died in Aster MIMS Hospital in Kannur on Tuesday. She was administered the first dose of Covishield vaccine on August 3.
Soon after, she got a fever, headache and nausea, said her relatives Deepak Kumar and Mohanan. On August 17, Ranjitha was rushed to a private hospital in Kanhangad. But as her condition was critical, she was shifted to Aster MIMS in the night.
A quick scan revealed that she was having severe brain bleeding, said the hospital’s ICU consultant Dr Ajith Sreedharan. Her blood platelet count was dangerously low, which could have triggered the bleeding, the doctor said.
The hospital performed emergency surgery to ease the pressure in her brain because of bleeding. Post-operation, she was put on a ventilator. She did not recover after that.
When the bleeding was detected, her family wrote to the Prime Minister, the state’s health minister, and the MLA expressing doubts that her condition could be linked to the vaccine. “She did not have any prior condition of bleeding or low platelet count,” said Deepak Kumar.
Dr Sreedharan said platelets help blood clot and the low platelet count can trigger bleeding. There were cases of vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (bleeding from low platelet count).
The Central government has prescribed Platelet Factor 4 (PF4) test as the definitive diagnosis to confirm if bleeding or clotting was induced by vaccines. “We sent her samples for the PF4 test and the result was negative,” said Dr Sreedharan.