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5 doctors in Karnataka get COVID after first vaccine shot, health officials allay fears


Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Jan 30, 2021:     Five doctors in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district have tested positive for the novel coronavirus a week after they were administered the first shot of COVID-19 vaccine. However, health authorities and experts have said that this does not mean that the vaccine is ineffective. The Union government and other health authorities in the country have said that both vaccines (Covaxin and Covershield) approved for use in India will be effective only after the second shot, which is to be given 28 days after the first shot.

 

India Vaccine


This means that those who receive the first shot of the vaccine should follow all precautions like wearing masks, hand washing and avoiding crowded areas. Further, experts advise that even those who are fully vaccinated — that is, those who have received both shots of the vaccine — should follow all precautions until a significant percentage of the population has been vaccinated.

In this instance, local health officials say that it is highly likely that the five doctors had contracted the virus prior to getting the first jab. “All the five doctors are attached to the district hospital and the government medical college here. They are in the 40-50 age group and have mild symptoms. Of the five, some took Covishield while some of them were given by Covaxin last week,” Dr MC Ravi, District Health Officer, Chamrajanagara, told TNM.

He added, “It is highly likely that their incubation period of catching the virus had started before they took the vaccine. They were tested only after they started showing symptoms. This issue is not related to vaccination and we are tracing contacts of these doctors.”

Dr Jacob John, a noted virologist and former professor at Christian Medical College in Vellore, said this development is not surprising. “The vaccine first dose induces immunity very partially only about two weeks later, and that too is yet to be defined very well due to lack of experience. Partial immune response will mean that a serious disease will be rendered milder. But here, the two week period was not available. It is only 5-10 days after the second dose, that the efficacy for Covishield is in the range of 60-70%,” he said.

He added, “Here in this case, it means they were probably infected before, or on the day they were given the vaccine. This is because the incubation period is 5-10 days and sometimes up to 14 days.”

He further said that those vaccinated should wear masks and follow other COVID-19 guidelines until two weeks from the second shot. “After that there is a small chance that people are protected from disease but not the infection. A transient infection may occur until the disease is very low in the community. The second reason to wear a mask is for discipline and public education,” he added.

When asked if these doctors should be given the second shot at a later date, Dr John said that won’t be necessary and they will probably be better protected from getting the infection.

Dr Rajani Nageshrao, State Deputy Director (Immunisation) told TNM that she has sought details on how and when the doctors were given the vaccine shot and when they contracted the infection. She said after gathering the details a meeting will be held with Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare Department, and other officials regarding this development.

As done in other parts of the country, doctors and other frontline workers are being vaccinated on priority in this first phase of the vaccination drive.

According to the state COVID-19 War Room report, Chamarajanagar district has reported 23 cases in the last seven days and has a recovery rate of 97.8% since the onset of the pandemic. The district has a positivity rate of 0.4% and no fatalities in the last 15 days.


Courtesy: The News Minute


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