Amid concerns about possible link between AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine and a rare blood clotting issues, a team of experts for post-immunisation adverse reactions is investigating if there are any domestic cases following vaccination with Covishield and Covaxin. India is currently administering AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, which is manufactured by the Serum Institute and branded Covishield, and a shot developed by Bharat Biotech called Covaxin.
The government’s move came after the European’s regulator said it found rare cases of blood clots among some adult recipients who were given AstraZeneca-Oxford university’s vaccine shots. A similar review of those vaccinated in the UK prompted its regulator (MHRA) to revise recommendations on this vaccine. India is relying on vaccinations to help contain a record surge in cases in its second wave.
The country reported a massive 1.31 lakh new Covid-19 cases on Friday. This review is expected to continue until next week, says a report by the Indian Express. “We have taken a lead from what the EMA and UK MHRA are saying.We would like to see if there is a similar kind of concern (with the vaccines used in our programme),” Indian Express reported citing sources. Decisions like whether to publish similar advisories to that of the UK MHRA and EMA will be taken after the review.
Following Europe’s announcement, several countries have announced restrictions on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in younger people. At over 83 million, AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine accounts for 90% of the doses administered in India so far. The remaining 8.1 million doses are of Bharat Biotech International’s Covaxin.
However, this issue needs to be handled with marked caution because a majority of the vaccines stocked for immunisation are Covisheild. In other countries, there are more options like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine but in India at present, we have only two vaccines.
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