COVID Test Before Vaccination: Experts Disagree With Bhubaneswar Civic Body Initiative

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) conducting rapid antigen tests to screen people eligible for vaccination against COVID has come for scrutiny with opinions divided over its necessity.

“We are trying to conduct the test wherever possible as it will help trace asymptomatic COVID patients,” Bhubaneswar Municipal Commissioner (BMC) Sanjay Singh told Odisha Bytes.

Elaborating further, additional district urban public health officer (ADUPHO) Antaryami Mishra said that this is part of the ongoing COVID surveillance in the city to ensure maximum coverage. “This facility has been made available at the vaccination centres but it is not mandatory for people to undergo the test before vaccination,” he said.

“Those, who take the test and are found to be positive, will not be inoculated,” he added.

According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, COVID vaccine can be deferred by three months after recovery in individuals having lab test proven SARS-2 COVID-19 illness. The reason: It is presumed that a person having battled the infection already has some level of immunity, naturally.

Sunny Mishra (name changed) was asked to go for a rapid antigen test before taking his second dose of Covaxin at a UPHCS in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

“Only those testing negative were then allowed to advance towards the room marked for vaccination. I feel this is a good initiative as it will help track down those infected but being asymptomatic see no reason to go for a test,” he said.

Also Read: Bhubaneswar Nears 8.42L Vaccination Target, 85% Of New COVID Patients Vaccinated

In the absence of any concrete study, there, however, have been opposing views on whether one should go for COVID test before being inoculated.

According to a group of experts, a large section of affected people, either asymptomatic or having mild symptoms, are often reluctant to go for a test. The immune response of such people can tackle the virus effectively. Inoculation of a new vector can overstimulate their immune response, leading to the severity of the infection. If a patient is at the tail-end of the infection, the adverse event to vaccination will be more.

Therefore, they had suggested the authorities and the public to consider taking an RT-PCR or antigen test to ensure they are negative prior to vaccination. They were also of the view that this could reduce the caseload.

State immunisation officer Dr Tapas Patra, however, said no such guidelines have been issued by the state government and there is no study that shows that COVID test before vaccination is helpful.

A Bhubaneswar-based doctor, requesting anonymity, said a rapid antigen test can miss an infection in 50-60 per cent of cases and the BMC is unnecessarily adding to its costs by conducting the test before vaccination. “It is a waste of time and money,” the doctor added.

Nathealth founder-president Dr Harsh Mahajan had earlier told the media that such tests are not recommended. “Our system is already overburdened for testing and therefore getting a test done before vaccination is unnecessary. Instead, people should stick to COVID appropriate behaviour while visiting the vaccination centres,” he said.

He was replying to a question on whether the COVID test was necessary as these can turn into super-spreader events.

However, he was quick to add, “If you are asymptomatic and get the jab, it does not interfere.”