Any death after COVID-19 vaccine can't automatically be assumed to be because of it: Govt

The Central government issued a clarification on Tuesday saying that any death or hospitalisation following COVID-19 vaccination cannot be automatically linked to the inoculation, thus quashing reports claiming deaths after getting a jab. The Health Ministry said these reports are based on an incomplete and limited understanding of the matter at hand. 

The government also said that as per several reports, "488 deaths following vaccination are linked to post-COVID complications between January 16 to and June 7, 2021 period where the total vaccination coverage was 23.5 crore. It may be noted that the term ‘succumbed’ insinuates causality i.e. the deaths were caused due to vaccination."

The Centre further clarified that the number of deaths reported following COVID-19 vaccination in the country is only 0.0002% of 23.5 crore doses administered which is within the expected death rates in a population. "In a population, deaths occur at a certain rate. The crude death rate in 2017 as per SRS data is 6.3 per 1000 persons annually," it said.

The Ministry emphasised that the mortality rates for those contracting COVID-19 are more than 1% and that vaccination can prevent these deaths. "Therefore, the risk of dying following vaccination is negligible as compared to the known risk of dying due to COVID-19 disease," it added.

One case of casualty post-vaccination

Meanwhile, a government panel studying the side effects of the Coronavirus vaccine has confirmed the first death due to anaphylaxis, following vaccination. The panel assessed 31 casualties that reported Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) after COVID-19 vaccination. According to a report, a 68-year-old man died due to anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction) after being vaccinated on March 8, 2021.

"It is the first death linked to COVID-19 vaccination due to anaphylaxis. It re-emphasises the need to wait for 30 minutes at the inoculation centre after receiving the jab. Most of the anaphylactic reactions occur during this period and prompt treatment prevents deaths," Dr NK Arora, chairperson of, National AEFI committee, told PTI.

The Committee examined five such cases that took place on February 5, eight cases on March 9 and 18 cases on March 31. As per data in the first week of April, the reporting rate is 2.7 deaths per million vaccine doses administered and 4.8 hospitalisations per million vaccine doses administered, the report stated.