India confirms 447 cases of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination

NEW DELHI - A total of 447 cases of Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFIs) after the COVID-19 vaccination have been reported over the past two days, out of whom three required hospitalization, India's health ministry said on Sunday.

"Of those who were hospitalised, one was discharged from the Northern Railway Hospital in Delhi within 24 hours, one another was discharged from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, and one is still under observation in AIIMS in Rishikesh (northern state of Uttarakhand) and is being monitored," said a statement issued by the ministry.

Most of the AEFIs reported so far included minor ailments like fever, headache and nausea etc.

Till Sunday a total of 224,301 beneficiaries have been vaccinated, out of whom 17,072 beneficiaries were vaccinated on Sunday alone.

The second day of the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination program was conducted with 553 sessions held in six states.

An AEFI is any unexpected medical occurrence following immunization which may not be related to vaccine or vaccination process. Protocols are in place for reporting, immediate case management at vaccination session site, transportation and hospitalization and further care of such cases.

According to health ministry officials, protocols are also in place for systematic investigation and causality assessment of serious AEFIs.

All the Indian states have been advised to plan COVID-19 vaccination sessions four days in a week to minimize disruption of the routine health services. Some states have already publicised their weekly vaccination days.

Two types of COVID-19 vaccines were supplied for the vaccination drive. While the "Covishield" vaccine, made by the Serum Institute of India, was supplied to all the Indian states, the "Covaxin" vaccine, made by Bharat Biotech International Limited, was supplied to 12 states.