Coronavirus vaccine: Who shouldn't take Covaxin shot right now?

Covaxin, India's first indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine has been surrounded in a pool of controversies since the very beginning.

The vaccine, which was granted emergency authorisation nod along with Covishield, has made many bat an eye over the lack of safety data and conclusive trial evidence. Complications have also arisen, with over 500 adverse reactions being recorded in the initial days of COVID vaccination drive in India, most of them related to Covaxin.

While it's normal, and considered a 'good' sign for a vaccine to generate certain side-effects, the severe reactions, including a reported death (which hasn’t been confirmed to be related to Covaxin) recently are making many hesitant to get the Covaxin, or any other vaccine shot right now.

People aren't being offered a choice between the two vaccines- Covaxin or Covishield.

While Covaxin is still under study, it's important to know that neither Covishield nor any other vaccines used globally are fully safe and effective, since they have been developed in such a short timeline, on an experimental basis. However, considering that most of the reactions have been recorded from people offered the Covaxin jab, it may seem a little less safe than others right now. The fears multiply for the ones who belong to a high-risk category, or suffer from pre-existing problems the most.

Considering the questions and adverse reactions, Bharat Biotech has now released a factsheet, detailing the people who shouldn't be taking the vaccine right now. If you are scheduled to get vaccinated in the coming weeks, considering postponing the appointment or consulting a doctor if you have any of these conditions:

(Image taken for representational purposes only)

Covaxin, like other vaccines, is delivered as an intramuscular jab injected into the skin, which, for some people may result in slight bleeding. However, for people who have been prescribed or using blood thinners for long, it can lead to profuse bleeding, swelling and redness, since anticoagulants prevent clotting. Therefore, even a needle prick can be risky and require additional treatment.

As with the other coronavirus vaccines right now, people who may be using blood thinners right now have been asked to seek proper guidance from their doctors first, or check for possible side-effects of the medication they are on.

Those with pre-existing allergies have been found to suffer from the most consequences right now, globally. An allergy could alter your body's immediate reaction to the virus, lead to shock, anaphylaxis, extreme redness, atopy, fainting, swelling which requires hospitalization and counted as a severe reaction. In some rare cases, it can also be fatal.

People with allergies have also reacted badly to the Pfizer vaccine. If you have a history of allergies spiking up with any vaccination, consider waiting or alerting officials before getting the shot.

Those who record adverse reactions after the first shot have also been asked not to get the second one right now.

Even though there's no documented proof that Covaxin or any COVID vaccine isn't safe for use by pregnant and lactating women, it would still be unsafe right now to get vaccinated as there can be severe reactions or altered immune response in such fragile states. Secondly, vaccines haven't been tested on pregnant or breastfeeding women yet, which adds to worries.

Immunosuppressant drugs, such as the ones given to Cancer patients alter the body's immune response, or compromise it, leaving a patient vulnerable to developing bad reactions, chronic infections or turn minor ailments into major ones. In some cases, a lack of healthy immunity may also fail the vaccine's workability. Hence, these people have asked to wait or delay inoculation, if possible.

Another guideline which has been mentioned in the Covaxin fact-sheet is that people not get a shot of Covaxin if they have already been administered any other Covid vaccine. Not only does this create logistical problems, but the vaccine may also react differently if the body has been dosed by a different vaccine mechanism.