India has started its COVID inoculation drive, aiming in its first phase to vaccinate healthcare and frontline workers. As many as ten states are using both COVISHIELD (developed by Serum Institute of India after Oxford University and AstraZeneca) and COVAXIN (developed by Bharat Biotech). Over 3.81 lakh beneficiaries have been given vaccination shots in the last three days. However, on the morning of 19th January, Bharat Biotech has released an advisory factsheet listing certain circumstances under which citizens should avoid taking Covaxin.
As per the factsheet, one MUST NOT take Covaxin if they
- Have allergies
- Have fever
- Are pregnant
- Are breastfeeding
- Have a bleeding disorder
- Are on a blood thinner
- Have already taken a shot of another COVID vaccine
- Are immunocompromised or on a medicine that affects the immune system
It is advised that persons experiencing the above conditions avoid the Covaxin shot to avoid further complications. The person receiving the vaccine should additionally inform the vaccinator of all/other medical conditions they are suffering from.
With 10,064 new COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India recorded the lowest single day spike since second week of June. Active cases further dropped to 2 lakh while recoveries went up to over 1.02 crore.
