26 cases of blood clots after Covishield; none after Covaxin
Govt committee has completed an in-depth case review of 498 serious and severe events, of which 26 cases were reported to have potential thromboembolic events. No such events were reported after administration of Covaxin vaccine
- May 17, 2021,
- Updated May 18, 2021 8:52 AM IST
Bleeding and clotting cases after the COVID-19 vaccination in India are "minuscule" and in line with the expected number of diagnoses of these conditions in the country, a report submitted by the national AEFI (adverse event following immunisation) committee to the health ministry has said. "Covishield continues to have a definite positive benefit-risk profile with tremendous potential to prevent infections and reduce deaths due to COVID-19 across the world and in India," the health ministry has said.
The study was conducted after alerts raised in some countries on post-vaccination "embolic and thrombotic events" on March 11, particularly with the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, which is named Covishield in India. The Centre conducted an analysis of the adverse events in India and that only 0.61 cases of blood clotting per million were reported in its analysis.
As per the National AEFI committee findings, as of April 3, around 75,435,381 vaccine doses had been administered (Covishield - 68,650,819; Covaxin - 6,784,562). Of these, 65,944,106 were first doses and 9,491,275 second doses. Since the COVID-19 vaccination drive was initiated -- more than 23,000 adverse events were reported through the COWIN platform. Of these, only 700 cases -- 9.3 cases per million doses administered -- were reported to be "serious and severe in nature".
Bleeding and clotting cases after the COVID-19 vaccination in India are "minuscule" and in line with the expected number of diagnoses of these conditions in the country, a report submitted by the national AEFI (adverse event following immunisation) committee to the health ministry has said. "Covishield continues to have a definite positive benefit-risk profile with tremendous potential to prevent infections and reduce deaths due to COVID-19 across the world and in India," the health ministry has said.
The study was conducted after alerts raised in some countries on post-vaccination "embolic and thrombotic events" on March 11, particularly with the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, which is named Covishield in India. The Centre conducted an analysis of the adverse events in India and that only 0.61 cases of blood clotting per million were reported in its analysis.
As per the National AEFI committee findings, as of April 3, around 75,435,381 vaccine doses had been administered (Covishield - 68,650,819; Covaxin - 6,784,562). Of these, 65,944,106 were first doses and 9,491,275 second doses. Since the COVID-19 vaccination drive was initiated -- more than 23,000 adverse events were reported through the COWIN platform. Of these, only 700 cases -- 9.3 cases per million doses administered -- were reported to be "serious and severe in nature".