Extend Side-Effects Monitoring Of Covid Vaccine To 28 Days: Public Health Expert

At present, the recipients are being monitored for 72 hours after the jab is administered.

Updated on: 17 May 2021 8:07 am

A public health official has recommended that all states should monitor vaccine beneficiaries for side-effects following immunisation (AEFI) for 28 days. This comes days after the duration between Covishield vaccine dosage was increased. At present, the recipients are being monitored for 72 hours after the jab is administered.

Dr. NK Arora, a member of the national AEFI Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) committee told The Times of India that with more vaccines set to enter the market, monitoring for side effects should be enhanced. He added, all AEFI data will soon be up on a public portal, a move many health experts have been calling for.

Out of nearly seven crore vaccine recipients assessed so far, Dr. Arora said less than 0.5 per cent of cases have involved serious AEFIs. “We have submitted detailed analyses to the government. The data should be out soon,” he said.

Emphasising on longer monitoring durations, Dr. Arora said that all states should now direct local authorities to develop a mechanism that will allow recipients to report side effects for 28 days. And the system should record such events and should later update them on the CoWin website.

The government is also expected to issue guidelines on adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) soon. These guidelines will help doctors as well as Covid-19 vaccine recipients to identify and treat unusual signs and symptoms.

So far, there have been five types of AEFIs- vaccine product-related reaction, vaccine quality defect-related reaction, immunisation error, immunisation anxiety-related reaction, and coincidental event. It’s the job of the national AEFI committee to determine the type of event that has affected a recipient.

None of the 79 deaths reported to have occurred after the Covid vaccination in the country has been directly linked to the vaccines, a top government official has said.

By the end of this year, the country is expected to get 25-30 crore doses available per month with international vaccines arriving too, the Centre said earlier this week.