New Delhi: Amid the countrywide alarm post-AstraZeneca’s admittance of the side effects of its COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, a former ICMR scientist says those who got this vaccine have ‘no risk at all.’
Only seven to eight individuals out of 10 lakh, who receive the coronavirus vaccine Covishield, face the risk of experiencing a rare side effect known as thrombosis thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). “The risk is highest when you get the first dose but it lowers with the second dose and is lowest with the third. If a side effect has to happen, it will show up within the initial two to three months,” India’s top epidemiologist, former ICMR scientist Dr Raman Gangakhedkar told News18.
Gangakhedkar, who was the face of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) during government briefings on COVID-19, told News18, “Within six months of the launch of the vaccine, TTS was recognised as a rare side effect of the adenovirus vector vaccine. There is nothing new or change in understanding of the vaccine. There is a need to understand that the risk is close to just 7 to 8 people out of 10 lakh getting the vaccine.”
Gangakhedkar said given the positive impact of this vaccine on millions, who are alive and kicking, the associated risk is minimal. According to the expert, vaccines or medicines in such emergencies are always approved using “risk and benefit analysis”. “In this case, too, the benefit was much bigger than the risk expected,” he said.
Gangakhedkar, who is known for his simplistic approach to clearing complicated matters, said: “Such a rare chance of damage exists even when you drive on the road (in the form of an accident) or even when an individual chooses to complete a course of medication or take a vitamin shot.”
