Health experts are divided over an Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) study that dispelled doubts over the alleged link between Covid-19 vaccines and sudden heart attacks.
Virologist Prof Jacob John praised the study methodology, however, he also pointed out a significant oversight which was a failure to differentiate between the two vaccines used in India.
He explained that the Covishield vaccine by Oxford-AstraZeneca, used in India worked similar to the mechanism used by the virus itself. This vaccine was more likely to cause adverse events.
On the other hand, the second type of vaccine, Covaxin by Bharat Biotech, used an inactivated virus, a method he lauded as an “Indian contribution to vaccinology”.
Dr KR Antony, pointed out that the study excluded histopathological (tissue-diagnosis) examinations of organs of individuals who succumbed post-vaccination.
However, noted microbiologist Dr Gagandeep Kang and Dr Rajeev Jayadevan — the latter was part of the Covid-19 task force in Kerala — praised the ICMR study.
Voicing a similar opinion, Dr Jayadevan noted that the researchers followed a robust methodological framework, typical of such epidemiological studies.
Venugopalan Govidan, who lost his daughter post vaccination wrote, “ICMR, more than monetary interest, had survival at stake and finding a causality would have exposed them.”