Don't worry about Covishield

Covishield was the widely used ‘vaccine’ by millions in India to combat the pandemic scare. Earlier too, there were fake campaigns and allegations about the vaccine having serious side effects which many feared would invite fatal consequences to health. Not just Covishield, the fear campaign was also directed at other vaccines that were introduced to stymie COVID-19 spread. Apart from a paltry few per cent of people, the vast majority did not develop any significant health problems even after taking the vaccine jab.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca, the maker of the Covishield vaccine, have now confirmed that their vaccine has side effects; precisely something that would invite blood clots. Reports of the affidavit in court have raised concerns among those who have received the Covishield vaccine in India.

As per foreign media reports, AstraZeneca has confessed to court about the vaccine leading to heart attacks and brain damage in rare case scenarios. Seventy per cent of people in India had used the Covishield vaccine. It is the onus of the central government to intervene in the issue and ameliorate concerns among the citizens. No scientific studies have been conducted in India on the vaccine side effects since the country reported very few cases of health complications associated with covishield vaccine.

Prominent health experts say there is nothing to worry more about the issue of the Covishield vaccine. It is a reality that people who took the jab during those tenuous pandemic times felt better and came out from the disease. One in 100,000 people who received the vaccine may have died, but this may also be due to other serious ailments already affecting the particular person.

Similarly, an international committee tasked with a detailed study should give an authoritative opinion on the side effects of the vaccine. Experts point out that AstraZeneca is not a competent agency to talk about the side effects and has cast off all doubts regarding the purported fatal consequences of the vaccine.

At the same time, many in India have come forward demanding scientific study into the vaccine's side effects. The central health department must create strong awareness through the media and other means to clear the misconceptions people now carry about this issue.