City dentist had died due to side effects of Covid vaccine, union health dept panel terms passing away of Dr Snehal Lunawat in March as adverse event following vaccination.

Aurangabad, Oct 21

The Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) committee of the union Health Department has termed death of city dentist Dr Snehal Lunawat (32), who specialised in Oral Pathology and Microbiology, as an adverse event following Covid-19 vaccination.

Dr Lunawat taught at a dental college and hospital near Igatpuri in Nashik district. In a complaint, her parents had sought an explanation for her death which was a result of a clot in the brain due to rare complexity after being administered the preventive COVID vaccine.

Dr Snehal was vaccinated against COVID on January 28. She was diagnosed with a mild migraine and was given medication by a doctor. Meanwhile, her health deteriorated after she went to Delhi for an event. She was admitted to a hospital in Gurgaon after suffering a brain hemorrhage. After a fortnight's treatment, she was admitted to a hospital in Aurangabad but she died on March 1.

Her family first informed the vaccine manufacturing company and then lodged a complaint with the government stating that she had died due to the side effects of the vaccine. The AEFI committee recently issued a report stating that it was a 'Serious Adverse Event Following Immunisation.'

They have mentioned the classification of this incident as 'A1', which according to the table of Index means 'Vaccine Product Related Reaction'. The report also states that the conclusion could change on the availability of more information.

Health authorities have said that the unfortunate death was a rarest of rare incident. There is no need to panic. Lakhs of people have been vaccinated and are safe.

Hailing from Igatpuri, the Lunawat has settled in Aurangabad for the last several years. Dr Snehal’s father Dilip is a vice-president of a company. He is shocked by the sudden death of Dr Snehal. At present, the government is focusing on vaccination for 18 to 45-year-olds, but this generation needs to be careful, he said.