Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged that the rushed approval and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine may be a contributing factor to cardiac arrest deaths, citing several international studies that recently suggested a possible link between the vaccines and a rise in heart attacks.
The Karnataka government on Tuesday announced formation of a committee to study potential side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, including links to heart attacks, amid reports that at least 20 people have died due to cardiac arrest in the state's Hassan district alone over the last one month.
'Owing to this, a committee has been formed under the leadership of Dr Ravindranath, director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Research, and they have been instructed to submit a study report within 10 days,' Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in a post on social media platform X.
This comes after the Karnataka government had ordered the formation of an expert committee in February to investigate the rising number of sudden deaths among young people, amid growing concerns that these incidents may be linked to Covid vaccine.
'In this regard, the process of examining and analysing heart patients is also underway,' Siddaramaiah added.
He alleged in his post that the rushed approval and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine may also be a contributing factor to these deaths, citing several international studies that have recently suggested a possible link between the vaccines and a rise in heart attacks.
'We, too, value the lives of children, youth, and innocent people who have their entire lives ahead of them, and we share the concerns of their families,' he added.
The CM's charge comes even as several studies and experts have highlighted cases of vaccinated people facing adverse events.
In May last year, a team of researchers from the Banaras Hindu University had claimed that nearly one third of the individuals who received Covaxin (manufactured by Bharat Biotech) were reported to have faced adverse events of special interest (AESI) such as viral upper respiratory tract infections, menstrual abnormalities and Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
The Indian Council of Medical Research had later criticised the study, calling it poorly designed, with a poor methodology and critical flaws in the design of the study.
Similarly, British vaccine maker AstraZeneca had admitted in a UK court that its vaccine could in very rare cases cause thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, which was manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, was sold in the country under the name Covishield.
Siddaramaiah added that the government will investigate the true cause behind the recent spate of sudden deaths in Hassan district and across the state, and take necessary steps to prevent further incidents.
'With this goal, we have already implemented schemes like Hridaya Jyothi and Gruha Arogya to monitor public health.
'Based on the report from the expert committee under Dr Ravindranath's guidance, necessary actions will also be taken,' he said.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
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