1,000 Covid-19 Vaccine Doses Found Frozen at Assam Medical College, Probe Underway
Authorities in Assam are probing how the 1,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine Covishield were found frozen in the vaccine store of the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), officials said on Tuesday.
Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli and state National Health Mission Director Lakshmanan S have separately ordered probes to identify the reason for the 100 vials of Covishield, containing 1,000 doses, being frozen .
Health officials in Guwahati, however, are not labelling the 100 vials or the 1,000 doses a waste yet as they would get them tested in a laboratory to test the efficacy of the vaccine. According to SMCH officials, the development was noticed on Saturday, the first day of the nationwide vaccination drive. According to the guidelines of the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, producer of Covishield in India, the vaccine needs to be kept at a temperature between 2-8 degre
Allaying fears over the side-effects of Covaxin, Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar on Tuesday defended the vaccine of from Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and said that it is safe for use.
IANS
Bengaluru, 18 Jan 2021: Asserting that the two Covid vaccines were safe, Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar on Sunday said there were no side effects among those who took the first shot since Saturday.
“No side effects have been reported so far from healthcare warriors who took the Covishield and Covaxin injections on Saturday and Sunday. They are safe,” he said in a statement.
Covishield, manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India is being used in 24 of the state’s 30 districts and Covaxin of the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in the remaining six.
“Of the 27,753 registered beneficiaries on the first 2 days of the vaccination drive across the state, 17,308 took the shot till Sunday, accounting for 62 per cent of the target” said Sudhakar, who is a medical doctor by profession.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Says Misinformation Being Spread As Congress Questions Vaccine Drive
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During India’s first phase of rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine, where over 2 lakh people have been inoculated, health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan sought to assure the people of the country that the vaccines being rolled out in India went under best possible scientific scrutiny and people should not believe in “misinformation” being spread.
While several Congress leaders have questioned the efficacy of the vaccine, Harsh Vardhan told CNNNews18, “Honestly, I haven’t heard of any problem. Some people are raising a political problem and we are replying to them also. From the very beginning we have warned people to not be worried about this misinformation that is being spread.”
The total number of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) post-coronavirus vaccine in Delhi stands at 52 out of which only one is severe.Maharashtra reported 14 cases of adverse events, none of them fatal, on Day 1 of the Covid-19 vaccination drive in the state