6.31 lakh vaccinated so far, no serious AEFI on Tuesday

New Delhi, Jan 19 India has vaccinated 6.31 lakh healthcare workers since the commencement of the nation-wide vaccination drive on January 16, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

"Cumulative total number of vaccinated healthcare workers across the country more than 6.31 lakh. No case of severe or serious AEFI reported in any state today," the ministry said in a statement.

"Only 0.18 per cent of beneficiaries developed adverse events following immunisation, while 0.002 per cent were hospitalized. The adverse events following immunisation are fairly low. In fact, these are the lowest in the world in the first three days," said Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

Delhi, which has 81 vaccination sites, vaccinated 4,936 persons on Tuesday and a total of 16 adverse event following immunisation were logged, according to a state Health Department official.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Health Secretary had said that there are mild, severe, and serious AEFI. "In India, anxiety or hysteria is also recorded. We must dispel this notion that AEFI means that people have lost consciousness and hospitalised. If post-vaccination, I have a crying bout, even that is captured. It may add to the number but it subsides."

( With inputs from IANS )