In a recently conducted study by the Indian Council of Medical Research, it has been concluded that the recent unexplained fatalities are not linked to COVID-19 vaccinations. On the contrary, it reduced the risk of sudden deaths among young people.
Official sources had informed that the study was completed last month, is currently under peer review, and is yet to be published. It’s a multicentric matched case control study with the title Factors associated with sudden deaths among adults aged 18–45 years in India. The study was taken up to investigate the factors leading to sudden fatalities among healthy young adults due to COVID-19 or COVID-19 vaccinations, sources further added.
The research was performed from the period of October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2023. 47 tertiary care hospitals were taken up for the study, which focused on healthy individuals in the age group of 18–45 years with no comorbidities who lost their lives due to sudden, unexplained causes. For each case, four matched controls or healthy individuals were taken up based on age, gender, and locality. Based on the selection criteria, 29,171 cases were selected as potential cases, and the final list included 729 sudden death cases.
The study revealed that individuals who had received two doses of the vaccination had a lower risk of sudden deaths as compared to those who had taken one dose of the vaccination. It further brought into light the factors that increased the chances of sudden, unexplained deaths. These included hospitalization for COVID-19 in the past, family history of sudden deaths, smoking and alcohol intake, binge drinking at least 48 hours before demise, usage of recreational drugs or substances, and intense physical activity shortly before death.
The Union Health Minister, Mr. Mansukh Mandaviya, also cited the ICMR findings and said that people who have a history of severe COVID-19 infection should not overexert themselves to avoid heart attacks.
The ICMR’s comprehensive study and its findings point out the lifestyle and other health factors that increase the risk of sudden death among healthy young adults. It also rules out any linkage between the sudden, unexplained deaths and the COVID-19 vaccination.
(Inputs by various media sources)
(Rehash/Dr. Sushmita Ganguli)