Only tiny fraction of people who got shots were infected: Centre
Government said a total of 11 million beneficiaries have received Covaxin
NEW DELHI: A minuscule fraction of people contracted Covid-19 in India after being vaccinated, the Union government said on Wednesday, aiming to boost public confidence in the efficacy of the inoculation drive that is crucial to fighting a devastating surge in infections ravaging the country.
Government experts cited official data to say that between two and four people per 10,000 vaccinated persons contracted the infection after getting the shots. They attributed this tiny number to the large number of health care professionals and frontline workers.
The government said a total of 11 million beneficiaries received Covaxin. Out of this, 9.3 million people received one shot and 4,208 were infected afterwards -or 0.04%. Around 1.7 million people received both shots and 695 were infected later.
A minuscule fraction of people contracted Covid-19 in India after being vaccinated, the central government announced on Wednesday, aiming to boost public confidence in the efficacy of the inoculation drive that is crucial to fighting a devastating surge in infections ravaging the country.
Government experts cited official data to say that between two and four people per 10,000 vaccinated persons contracted the infection after getting the shots. They attributed this tiny number to the large number of health care professionals and frontline workers -- who were immunised in the first phase of the drive -- who work in conditions with a high risk of exposure to the virus.
The phenomenon of getting infected after vaccination is called breakthrough infection.
The government said a total of 11 million beneficiaries received Covaxin, the two-dose shot manufactured by Bharat Biotech and developed in association with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) .
Out of this, 9.3 million people received one shot and 4,208 were infected afterwards -- or 0.04%. Around 1.7 million people received both shots and 695 were infected later, again around 0.04%, announced ICMR director general Dr Balram Bhargava.
For Covishield -- the two-dose jab developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca and manufactured by Serum Institute of India -- approximately 100 million people received the first dose and 17,145 were infected later, or around 0.02%. And, 15 million people received both doses and only 5014 were infected afterwards, or around .03%.
“So this is a very, very, very small number. Only 2 to 4 per 10,000 breakthrough infections have occurred, which is a very small number,” Bhargava said.
He attributed even this tiny fraction of breakthrough infections to frontline workers in high-risk situations, and the current second wave that has swamped the country.
“This is because health care and frontline workers who were the first to be vaccinated and they are prone to more occupational exposure and, therefore, this is the number. And this is a very very small number and not at all worrisome, and vaccination should continue. The second point is this current highly transmissible second wave may also contribute, a little bit, very miniscule, otherwise this may have been even zero per cent,” he added.
Experts said the very small number was important to show that the vaccines were effective and dispel any hesitancy and misinformation around the inoculation drive.
“If you look at the numbers then it clearly shows it is a relatively small number. Also, given that respiratory vaccines do not have 100% efficacy,” said Jacob John, former virology, head, Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
The second wave is spreading at a great rate, with at least 146 districts currently showing a case positivity rate of at least 15%.
The case positivity rate -- a ratio of positive cases to total tests, and a measure of the scale of the outbreak in a region -should ideally remain under 5%, according to WHO.
Comparative data between the two Covid-19 waves shared by the Centre also showed fatality in children under the age of 10 and elderly above 80 were has risen in the current wave. So far this year, 0.3% children below 10 have succumbed to the viral infection, which was 0.2% in the previous wave last year.
More elderly patients are also dying, with data showing 9.8% mortality among 80 and above this year as compared to 7.8% last year.