HYDERABAD: A 55-year-old anganwadi worker from Mancherial district, who was administered the Covid-19 vaccine on January 19, died while undergoing treatment for some health complications at the NIMS, Hyderabad, on Saturday night.
The office of the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare, in a release, said Susheela — from Kasipet village in Kasipet mandal — complained of shortness of breath and giddiness on January 29, for which she was admitted to Medilife Hospital at Mancherial. She was later referred to the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) around 6 pm on January 30.
Susheela’s family has alleged that she died due to the vaccination but officials of the Telangana Health Department told Express that she had some underlying health conditions, including hypertension. The State government too has denied the allegations, saying that the death is not related to the vaccination but due to the comorbidities the anganwadi worker had.
“The cause of death is clearly indicative of underlying morbidities and not due to the Covid vaccination. The death occurred due to cardio-respiratory arrest triggered by multiple morbidities such as Kyphoscoliosis with restricted lung disease, respiratory infection with type-2 respiratory failure and accelerated hypertension with left ventricular failure,” the release stated.
However, Susheela’s family said even though she had some health problems — high BP and respiratory issues — she was perfectly fine till the day she took the vaccine. Soon after she was given the shot, her health deteriorated. She developed a fever, body pains and breathlessness.
Mallesh, one of her relatives, said the government should be cautious while vaccinating people with comorbidities and demanded a thorough investigation into the matter.This is the third such incident of a government healthcare worker dying in Telangana after being given the Covid-19 vaccination. Earlier, a 42-year-old man from Nirmal died within 18 hours of being administered the vaccine.
TS to counsel healthcare workers who skip Covid jab, says Eatala
Health Minister Eatala Rajender said that the Telangana government is contemplating putting in place a counselling mechanism to build confidence among healthcare workers who register for the Covid-19 vaccine but do not turn up due to unfounded fears over the vaccine.
Speaking during an online conference organised by the Telangana State Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Trade (TSFCCT) on Sunday, the Minister said that he had volunteered to get vaccinated earlier to instil confidence among the people regarding the vaccine. He said that the State received eight lakh doses so far and that the Centre must provide more.
Speaking at another event, Rajender also said that people from various occupations, including the media, have been asking the State government to vaccinate them.