BHUBANESWAR: With 13 people succumbing to Covid-19 and hundreds more getting infected post-vaccination, the Odisha government on Saturday initiated a process to study breakthrough infection among people who tested positive after inoculation.
At the first meeting of the technical committee constituted for the study, it was decided to collect epidemiological and serological data of people who have tested positive even after receiving the doses along with the pattern of infection, severity of disease, hospitalisation and requirement of oxygen.
A senior member of the study group said scientifically people getting infected two weeks after the full vaccination schedule is considered a breakthrough infection. “We will study the infection among such people along with those who have been re-infected - tested positive both before and after vaccination,” he said.
Sources said the eight-member technical committee headed by Director of Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) Dr Ajaya Kumar Parida has sought data on people with breakthrough and reinfections from districts. Once the data is compiled, it will be matched with the vaccination data to ascertain whether they have completed the full vaccination schedule. “In most of the cases, we have data of vaccinated people, who went through RT-PCR tests. More evidence is being collected from rapid response teams deployed in the districts to monitor Covid patients. We will conduct antibody tests and genome sequencing on some people who have contracted the disease,” said the health official.
The committee will study the incidence, spectrum of microbiological and clinical presentations and their outcome in suspected/confirmed breakthrough Covid-19 during post-vaccination period. While a majority of the breakthrough infections following vaccination was caused by the Delta variant, quoting the data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Dr Parida said only 0.04 per cent of people have tested positive after the first dose and 0.03 people after the second dose.
The Health department, however, decided to conduct the study after it was noticed a number of breakthrough novel coronavirus infections amongst the people who have completed the full schedule of Covid-19 vaccination. “The committee has been asked to submit their report after a comprehensive study. The epidemiological, microbiological, immunological, genomic and clinical studies will help in planning and preparedness of the State for possible future waves,” Additional Chief Secretary of Health PK Mohapatra said.
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