Govt: No links between Covid vaccine & heart-related deaths

The Ministry also said preliminary findings of a study currently being conducted by AIIMS, Delhi indicate that “heart attacks continue to be the leading cause of sudden death” among young adults. “In majority of the unexplained death cases, genetic mutations have been identified as a possible cause of these deaths,” the statement said.

On Tuesday, Siddaramaiah, in a post on X, said more than 20 people had died of heart attacks in Hassan in the past one month alone and “it cannot be denied that the hasty approval and distribution of the Covid vaccine to the public could also be a reason… as several studies worldwide have recently indicated that Covid vaccines could be a cause for the increasing number of heart attacks.” He said the state has formed a panel of experts “to identify the exact cause of these series of deaths and to find solutions”.

There are several reasons why the 20 deaths in Hassan are not a red flag. First, the number: there were 18,568 deaths registered in Hassan district in 2023, translating to nearly 51 deaths a day, according to Karnataka’s Vital Statistics Report 2023.

Second, heart attack is one of the most common causes of death in India. Cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks, account for more than a quarter of all deaths in India, according to data from Global Burden of Diseases.

Third, a study by the ICMR on the link between sudden deaths and Covid-19 vaccination found that immunisation did not increase the risk. The study linked a history of hospitalisation with Covid-19, a family history of sudden death, and behaviours such as binge drinking and intense physical activity to sudden death. The study is based on 729 deaths recorded in apparently healthy 18 to 45 year olds between October 2021 and March 2023. The data is compared to that of 2,916 healthy individuals of same age, gender, and living in similar conditions.

Dr Manoj Murhekar, head of ICMR National Institute of Epidemiology, said, “The benefit of vaccination far outweighed the risk of vaccination at the time. Our study shows that there is no association between Covid-19 vaccination and sudden deaths.”

(With ENS Bengaluru)