Telangana braces for adverse effects of Covid vaccines

The Health Department has taken up unprecedented safety measures to ensure proper treatment is available to healthcare workers in cases of Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) during the Covid vaccine drive. Senior health officials on Friday also sought to assure healthcare workers about the safety of both the Covid vaccines that are to be administered.

Director of Medical Education (DME) Dr K Ramesh Reddy said, “We are sure that both the vaccines are safe to be administered. We want to assure the general public, doctors, nurses and other non-clinical staff about the safety of the vaccines. There will be minor adverse events like fever or body pains but major complications would be rare.”

The authorities have identified 58 healthcare facilities across the State, which will be on standby to provide emergency care services to individuals with AEFI. All these facilities have ventilators, oxygen line, trained healthcare workers and enough stock of life-saving medicines, he said

Apart from emergency medicines like adrenaline, close to 400 ambulances are on the stand-by to ensure emergency transport facilities. “From the information available to us, we are sure



that both the vaccines are safe. Those receiving the Covid vaccine will develop antibodies in two to three weeks. 

The healthcare workers in Telangana during the peak Covid pandemic have set high standards by extending care to Covid patients. By volunteering to vaccinate, they will now become role models,” Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr G Srinivasa Rao said.

Health officials indicated that both Covishield (manufactured by Serum Institute) and Covaxin (from Bharat Biotech) will be administered to healthcare workers and they would not have the option to choose any one of the vaccines. “We should be proud of the fact that an indigenously developed Covid vaccine has come from Telangana,” Dr Rao said.

Before administering the vaccine, the beneficiaries will have to sign a consent form and their health status will be observed for a few weeks by a group of senior doctors. “We are following all the precautions and protocols that have been laid down by the Union Government. The general public must realise that by inoculating ourselves, we will be giving ourselves a chance to get out of the Covid pandemic,” Dr Reddy said.