No Need for Fear Over Covishield Vaccine Side Effects. No Data or Evidence: Satyajit Rath

New Delhi: Ever since the news came out that British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has admitted in a British court that their Covid-19 vaccine may have some side effects, many questions are being raised about its Covishield vaccine. There is a sense of fear among people who have taken the vaccine meant to fight Covid-19.

In India, there are thousands who have taken the vaccines, which was developed by AstraZenaca and produced by Serum Institute of India, Pune.

What is the truth? Is it really harmful? NewsClick spoke with Dr Satyajit Rath, renowned immunologist and professor associated with the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER). Edited excerpts from a video interview:

Mukul Saral: Several questions are being raised regarding Covishield. There are apprehensions and fear. What is your view on this?

Satyajit Rath: There is nothing new in this. All these things are well-known in the scientific field. Two years ago, too, there was talk in the media and social media on this. The only difference today is technical, in that the company has accepted these things. But that is just a legal issue. There is nothing new in this. No new evidence has emerged. What the whole world has known for the past two years, has been accepted by AstraZeneca in the court.

There has been no change in the safety aspect of the vaccine.

The technology of Covishield vaccine is called ‘adenoviral vector’ technology. Which means, there is an adeno virus in the vaccine in which a piece of Covid protein has been inserted, due to which antibodies are made against the Covid virus. There are many vaccines that are using such technology.

The issue that has come to light regarding this vaccine with adenoviral technology is that blood clots can form in the brain. But these are very rare incidents. Say, one in 1-2 lakh persons. This drew attention because we were using the vaccine in such large quantities in India.

Therefore, what is being said on social media, that all those who have taken Covishield are at risk, is absolutely false and baseless. It has no scientific basis.

Whatever rare effect that has been seen in one person out of 1-2 lakh, has been seen within a few days of receiving the vaccine dose. This means that if nothing happened to the remaining 99,999 people at that time, then there is no possibility of anything happening to them in the future also.

Therefore, do not believe such rumors and do not get scared yourself or scare others.

MS: People say that after suffering from Covid or taking the vaccine, they experience fatigue and catch infections easily, which take a long time to go away. There have also been cases of heart attacks among the youth. All this is being blamed on the vaccine by several people on social media.

SR: Absolutely not. There is no such data or evidence. Long Covid is one thing, but its extent is very less. And after so many years, there is no possibility of this at all. There are other reasons for this.

Diseases keep occurring due to several different reasons. For instance, not having a job. Due to which people are falling prey to diseases triggered by stress. Apart from this, diabetes and blood pressure are increasing. Such incidents also happen due to those diseases. We do not have any data or scientific evidence of its connection with Covid or its vaccine.

MS: The second vaccine given to Indians was Covaxin, which was made by Bharat Biotech. Are there any questions or apprehensions regarding Covaxin?

SR: The technology of Covaxin is somewhat different from Covishield. This technology used killed virus i.e. inactivated vaccine or killed vaccine. So, it has its own specialties and limitations.

The advantage of Covishield is that it is easy to make. Therefore, about 90% of people in our country got Covishield. It is more difficult to make Covaxin. That's why very few people were able to get that vaccine.

The TTS or Thrombocytopenia Syndrome that we are talking about, which is very rare, also does not occur with Covaxin. The antibodies generated by Covishield are greater in quantity than those produced by Covaxin. Every vaccine has its own specialties, benefits and limitations.

Hence, whether it is Covishield or Covaxin -- everyone is safe. There is a safety system in place against Covid in these vaccines. Also, there is no scientific evidence for this rare side effect emerging after so many months and years.

(Translated from Hindi)