AIIMS guard who showed severe allergic reaction to vaccine released from hospital

New Delhi

The 22-year-old security guard who was admitted into the intensive care unit (ICU) for severe allergic reaction, or anaphylaxis, after receiving a Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Saturday, was discharged on Sunday.

“He is stable and has been discharged,” confirmed Dr Randeep Guleria, director, AIIMS, Delhi.

He was the only severe reaction reported in Delhi on the first day of the national vaccine roll-out. Anaphylaxis causes skin rash, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, and shock, if not treated promptly.

The hospital had been administering Covaxin that is developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research.

According to doctors at AIIMS, the security guard had complained of uneasiness, palpitation, headache, and developed rash after 10-15 minutes of having been given a shot. He was moved to the icu, and remained under observation of specialists for a day before being discharged on Sunday evening.

In all, Delhi reported 51 minor reactions such as rashes, swelling at the site of injection, or fever on day one of the Covid-19 vaccination drive.

A senior NDMC official, who asked not to be named, had said that two cases of mild AEFI (adverse effects following immunisation) symptoms were reported at Charak Palika Hospital. Two of the hospital’s health care workers who took the Covid-19 vaccine in the afternoon, had reported slight tightness in the chest during the observation period.

“They were immediately attended to by the AEFI team and kept under observation. They felt normal within half-an-hour and were discharged. There is nothing to be worried about AEFI cases, as such symptoms are normal to occur after any vaccination,” the official had said.

As per the Covid-19 vaccination operational guidelines, a recipient of the vaccine would need to be kept under observation in a separate waiting area at the vaccination site for at least 30 minutes, to monitor their health condition.