Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said there had been attempts to create misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines and assured that the vaccines are completely safe.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has refuted claims about the COVID-19 vaccine being responsible for heart attacks. Citing an ICMR study, Mandaviya said the vaccine is not causing heart attacks, rather an individual’s lifestyle and factors such as binge drinking could be among underlying causes.
The Health Minister said there had been attempts to create misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines and assured that the vaccines are completely safe.
“If someone has a stroke today, some people think it is because of the COVID vaccine. ICMR has done a detailed study on this. (COVID) vaccine is not responsible for heart attacks. There are multiple reasons for heart attacks, like our lifestyle, tobacco and excess liquor consumption,” said Mandaviya.
“Sometimes, misinformation goes among the people and a perception is formed for some time. But whatever decision we make, it should be data-based and scientific research-based,” the minister said.
The Union Health Minister was speaking at ‘ANI Dialogues – Navigating India’s health sector’ in New Delhi.
Vaccines based on expert advice, scientific evidence
Mandaviya said the government took decisions concerning vaccination based on advice of experts and scientific evidence.
“When the vaccine was given, an attempt was made at that time to create a misperception that this vaccine is not good. Then political questions were raised that if it (vaccine) was good then why PM Modi is not taking it?…PM Modi falls under the category of 60 years without comorbidities and he took the vaccine in the third category,” he said
“Mansukh Mandaviya is minister not scientist. So my decision should be scientific. You should have seen that during COVID, empowered groups were created. And technical teams made the decisions and I approved. But decision was theirs, not mine,” he added.
He also talked about the speed at which COVID-19 vaccine was rolled out in India due to determination of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who told scientists that resources will not be constrained in the developing the vaccine.
ICMR study on COVID-19 vaccines
According to a peer-reviewed study by the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) in November last year, vaccines administered for COVID-19 did not increase the risk of sudden death among young adults in India but it was the post-Covid hospitalisation, family history of sudden death, and certain lifestyle behaviours that are likely the underlying causes.
The ICMR study was conducted through the participation of 47 tertiary care hospitals across India. Cases were apparently healthy individuals aged 18-45 years without any known co-morbidity, who suddenly died of unexplained causes between October 2021-March 2023.
As per the study, interviews were recorded to collect data on COVID-19 vaccination, infection and post-COVID-19 conditions, family history of sudden death, smoking, recreational drug use, alcohol frequency and binge drinking and vigorous-intensity physical activity two days before death.
“Lifestyle factors such as current smoking status, alcohol use frequency, recent binge drinking, recreational drug/substance use and vigorous-intensity activity were positively associated with unexplained sudden death. As compared to never users, the more the frequency of alcohol use, the higher was the odds for unexplained sudden death,” the study said.
The study was done in view of some anecdotal reports of sudden unexplained deaths in India’s, apparently healthy young adults during the once-in-a-century pandemic.
(With ANI inputs)