NEW DELHI — India’s apex body for medical research, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has said even a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine is effective in preventing deaths.
“Our analysis indicated that Covid-19 vaccination, even with a single dose, was effective in preventing deaths,” the Indian Council of Medical Research study states.
“It is necessary to increase coverage of Covid-19 vaccines, regardless of the type of the vaccines, to reduce the mortality in current, as well as in future waves of Covid-19 epidemic.”
The research council tweeted: “Indian Council of Medical Research study reveals that Covid-19 vaccine is effective in preventing deaths among front line workers.”
Though experts are claiming that the third wave might hit India by mid-August, the country hit a new low on the number of cases, with 43,733 reported in the last 24 hours. This is the 10th consecutive day when the country has seen less than 50,000 cases.
The study was conducted on the police force in the southern city of Tamil Nadu.
The police department had been documenting vaccination of its workforce and Covid-19 deaths during the second wave, along with the details of the date of hospitalization and vaccination.
In the study, the data was used to estimate the incidence of deaths due to Covid-19 among the vaccinated and unvaccinated police personnel.
“There are 1,17,524 police personnel working with the department of Police in Tamil Nadu,” the study said.
“Between February 1, 2021, and May 14, 2021, 32,792 received a single dose, 67,673 received two-doses while the 17,059 did not receive any vaccine dose.”
The study said that 31 deaths related to the virus were reported among these police personnel between April 13, 2021, and May 14, 2021.
“Of these 31 Covid-19 deaths, four had taken two doses of the vaccine, seven had taken one dose, and the rest 20 were unvaccinated.”
“Compared to unvaccinated individuals, the relative risk of Covid-19 deaths among those receiving one and two doses was 0.18 and 0.05 respectively,” ICMR said.
The vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing Covid-19 deaths with one and two doses was 82 percent and 95 percent, respectively.
“Observational studies conducted in different countries also indicated high effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing severe outcomes. The interim results of the BBV152 trial indicate high efficacy against preventing symptomatic disease,” the study said.
“A cohort study conducted among healthcare workers from a tertiary care hospital in Tamil Nadu indicated a strong protective effect of two doses of vaccines against hospitalization, the need for oxygen therapy, and the need for ICU care. The results of our analyses are consistent with the published studies showing effectiveness against severe disease.”
The analysis, however, has certain limitations as potential confounders, which included age, comorbidities, and previous exposure to Covid-19, which could not be adjusted for, as the vaccination details were collected as aggregated numbers. Also, the effectiveness could not be estimated separately for each vaccine.
(With inputs from ANI)
(Edited by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Praveen Pramod Tewari)
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