Covaxin - Is It Safe for You?

After a long wait, India has got its own vaccine against coronavirus, named covaxin.  People are still skeptical about the efficacy and results of this vaccine. But, is COVAXIN safe for you? The year 2020 has witnessed one of the dreadful pandemics in the history of mankind. The first coronavirus cases were reported by officials of Wuhan city in China in December 2019. 

From there it started spreading around the world through travelers. Back in 2020 when the Covid-19 virus just touched the Indian territory, there was no serious threat as it was not in the news and people didn’t know about it, life was going on normally till the covid-19 pandemic started to show its face in India.

Coronavirus is a large family of viruses that can cause common cold to severe illness in the human body. Covid-19 was also named novel coronavirus as it was unknown and a new kind of virus.

First COVID-19 case in India

The first covid-19 case in India was reported on 27th January 2020. A 20-year-old girl from Kerala who had a travel history of Wuhan (China) was found with mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus. The month of March in 2020 saw a sudden rise in coronavirus cases in India. People who are 60+ years of age and suffering from diabetes, lung or heart disease, or any ailment affecting the immune system.

As per the records, total covid-19 cases in India are 10.8 million, out of which 10.5 million recovered and 1,15,000 people lost their lives due to this dreadful virus. There are a total of 106 million cases around the world, 10.5 million people recovered and total lives lost because of the pandemic are 2.32 million.

Lockdown in India

March saw the starting of the first lockdown in India. Taking preventive measures, the government of India announced a lockdown on 24th March 2020. During the lockdown, apart from essentials, people were even ordering medicines online.

Covaxin - Vaccination for covid-19 in India

The announcement of the vaccine has now brought a sigh of relief after much distress for the people. There are two vaccines that are approved by the ministry of health after phases of clinical trials. But, the question now is how safe are these vaccines for the people. There is one covishield manufactured by Serum Institute of India and another one is covaxin which is manufactured by Bharat Biotech.

The vaccination drive in India started on the 16th of January 2021, over 50 lakh doses of covid-19 have been administered till now, and Bharat Biotech is all set to begin covaxin trials on children and youth by the end of February. As per news reports, Bharat biotech has also signed an agreement with the US and Brazil to export an outsource covaxin.

Regarding the safety of covaxin, there can only be speculations made till we can reach any authentic conclusion. But there are some details about covaxin that you will get to know as you read further.

Some common side effects seen after the use of covaxin are soreness, redness, and swelling at the site of injection, and pain after getting the vaccine shot. Even Bharat Biotech, the developer of covaxin warned people against taking the vaccine if they have a fever, bleeding disorder, allergies, weak immunity, or on medication. People with such conditions should not take covaxin as said by the developer.

As per the manufacturer, pregnant and breastfeeding women should also not take this vaccination. 2360 trainers trained during national-level training, more than 61000 program managers, 3,70,000 vaccination team members, and 200000 vaccinators have been trained so far. 

The vaccine purchase order of the government says that companies shall be liable for the adversities caused by the vaccination. As per reports, recipients of the vaccination will be handed over a fact sheet and adverse effect reporting form where they would have to note any symptoms they get such as fever, pain, and redness in the first seven days after getting the vaccination shot.

What developer has to say

The company has stated that the vaccine has demonstrated the ability to produce antibodies against covid-19 or coronavirus in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials. The efficacy or ability of covaxin to work against coronavirus is yet to be established as it is still being studied in phase 3 clinical trials.

Although the primary focus of the government is to administer vaccines to the front-line workers of the country, soon it will be available for all the nationals. Receiving the vaccination is your own personal choice and willingness.