Dispelling myths, docs bat in favour of expanding vaccine drive

Visakhapatnam: Despite assurances by medical experts on the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, apprehensions among the public, especially the elderly, remain.
As per district health officials, in Visakhapatnam district, from January till March 10, around 75,000 beneficiaries have been vaccinated out of which 11 persons have reported AEFI (adverse events following immunisation).
While some districts have reported a few deaths, there is no concluding evidence to link these deaths directly to Covid-19, officials said.
Covid-19 nodal officer for north-coastal Andhra Pradesh Dr P V Sudhakar said, “Combining the various phases of the vaccination programme, so far we had around 75,000 beneficiaries in the district. Of these 11 from various age groups, mainly women, have reported AEFI. Nine among them had anxiety neurosis and high blood pressure while two of them had an increased bout of bronchial asthma, from which they were already suffering. All of them were treated and discharged within 24 to 48 hours.”
Speaking to TOI, pulmonologist and civil surgeon at ESI Hospital Dr Phanender Ketha, said, “The approved vaccines in India, Covishield and Covaxin, have 100% efficacy in preventing death due to Covid-19 and very high efficacy against severe Covid, high to moderate efficacy (60% to 95%) against symptomatic Covid-19 but poor efficacy only against asymptomatic Covid-19, so people should not seek efficacy data while choosing a vaccine. To prevent severe Covid-19 and deaths, vaccination of a large cohort of population is needed. But the drawback is, even if a person is vaccinated, he is not protected from the mild/asymptomatic disease in case of exposure and can still transmit Covid-19 to others.”
Doctors added that those with certain medical conditions of the heart, diabetes, cancer, recent hospitalisation and surgeries, immunocompromised state and those who have recovered from Covid-19 should consult their doctors and allow for a sufficient period of time, ranging from a few weeks to a few months, between getting vaccinated and regular medication.