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Both COVID vaccines approved for emergency use in India Covaxin and Covishield are safe for people on blood thinners, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Balram Bhargav said on Thursday.
Addressing a Health Ministry press conference, he added that manufacturers of both the vaccines have approached the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for revision of this contraindication on their factsheets.
“Relative contraindications regarding blood thinners have been mentioned in the factsheets of both the vaccines and both the companies have written to the DCGI regarding revision of this. The revision will happen every soon. Blood thinners are of two categories antiplatelets and anticoagulants. For those on antiplatelets like aspirin, the vaccine causes no problem but for those on anti-coagulants, the tendency to bleed is much higher. This is also a relative contraindication and the anticoagulant can be