A 68 year old man has died after being fully vaccinated with the covishield vaccine in the month of March due to anaphylaxis, which is considered as a severe allergic reaction that could happen post vaccination. In a report submitted by the AEFI Committee, it has been reported that the cause of death is a “vaccine product related reaction”.

According to AEFI Committee this is the first death where causality has been established, with vaccine resulting in an anaphylaxis reaction. Most anaphylaxis reactions are manageable.

What does the government has to say?

The Health Ministry said that AEFI is defined as ‘any untoward medical occurrence which follows immunization and which does not necessarily have a causal relationship with the usage of the vaccine.

“It is clarified that these reports are based on incomplete and limited understanding of the matter at hand,” the Health Ministry said in a statement.

 The government stated that the number of deaths reported following COVID-19 vaccination in the country is only 0.0002% out of 23.5 crore which isn’t abnormal considering the population and the death rate.

It has also been said that the vaccination is being done to reduce the risk of dying from the covid-19 infection as the mortality rate for the disease is above 1% which is much more significant as compared to the death percentage that might be due to vaccination. Therefore in this case the risk involved is miniscule as opposed to the benefits.

The government have asked hospitals and other state governments to report all deaths, hospitalizations and events resulting in disability as well as any minor and adverse events following immunization at any point of time after vaccination.

“Causality assessments help to understand whether the event was caused due to the vaccine and are conducted at the state and national level. Therefore, any death or hospitalization following vaccination cannot be automatically assumed to be due to vaccination unless investigated by the AEFI Committees at the district, state and national level and attributed to the Vaccination,” the government added in its statement.

What should you do after getting the vaccine?

In case of a severe allergic reaction or anaphylaxis after getting the Covid-19 vaccine, emergency care and advice from a health professional or hospitalization might be necessary.

However, even if the allergic reaction was not severe enough to require emergency care, it is advisable to not get a second shot of a vaccine before consultation from the doctor.

An immediate allergic reaction happens within 4 hours of getting vaccinated and may include symptoms such as hives, swelling, and respiratory distress. Therefore it re-emphasizes the need to wait for 30 minutes at the inoculation center after the administration of the vaccine.