PUNE: All states should monitor vaccine recipients for adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) for 28 days, a top public health official has said. Currently, recipient are monitored for AEFI for the first 72 hours after receiving a jab.
Dr NK Arora, member of the national AEFI Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) committee, said with more vaccines set to enter the market, monitoring for side-effects should be enhanced. He said that all AEFI data will soon be up on a public portal, a move many health experts have been calling for.
Dr Arora said out of seven crore vaccine recipients assessed so far, less than 0.5% cases have involved serious AEFIs. “We have submitted detailed analyses to the government. The data should be out soon,” he said. He said that longer monitoring durations is essential and has been the norm in many countries.
“All states should now direct local authorities to develop a mechanism that will allow recipients to report side-effects for 28 days. This system should record such events — from public and private facilities — and update them on the CoWIN website,” he said. Many health experts have called for the release of AEFI data. They said that publicly available information on side-effects can help reduce vaccine hesitancy. All the Covid-19 vaccines are new and experts said extensive follow-ups are needed with recipients to look for unusual adverse events.
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