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What's scientific?: Doctor, bureaucrat fight it out over vaccination in Kashmir
On June 2, influenza expert Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan - who heads a faction of the Doctors Association of Kashmir - said, “If you are allergic to any component of the vaccine, you are advised not to take it”.
A written spat on what is scientific or unscientific over Covid-19 vaccination is playing out between a doctors’ association and a prominent bureaucrat in Kashmir.
Influenza expert Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan, who heads a faction of the Doctors Association of Kashmir (DAK), said on June 2 that people who are allergic to any component of the Covid-19 vaccine should not receive the jab. On Saturday, deputy commissioner (DC), Srinagar, Mohammad Aijaz Asad wrote a letter to the UT’s Medical Education Department seeking action over Hassan’s statement and called it “antithetical to the scientific evidence”.
On Sunday, the DAK issued a strongly worded statement against Asad terming his letter “unscientific and defamatory”.
“The contents of the DC’s letter were unscientific and misleading. He has created a story that is everything but science. The contents of the letter are intimidating and harassing. This has demoralized the whole medical fraternity …,” the statement quoted General Secretary of DAK, Dr Suhail Shah.
“If a doctor will not do the talking during the pandemic, then who will?” it questioned.
On June 2, Hassan, who is a regular at updating about various aspects and researches regarding Covid-19, and has been a strong advocate of vaccination, said, “If you are allergic to any component of the vaccine, you are advised not to take it”.
“However, if you have a history of allergic reactions that aren’t related to the Covid-19 vaccine, such as food, medicine, latex, insects and environmental triggers, you can get the vaccine,’’ he said.
Asad’s letter to the government sought action against this statement by what it said was a “so-called self-styled DAK president” Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan.
“… the above statement is antithetical to the scientific evidence,” Asad wrote.
He said that so far 33,23,862 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir as of June 1, and no severe/adverse effects of its components have been detected in 99.99% of the beneficiaries.
“The statement has created apprehensions among the general public about the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines. Such kind of un-scientific, un-researched statements lead to erosion of faith in medical science and dampen the efforts to vaccinate the targeted population,” the letter said.
Condemning the letter, DAK spokesperson, Dr Riyaz Ahmad Dagga said the contents of the letter are “baseless, unscientific and defamatory for the clean and honest image” of the DAK president.
“Dr Nisar is a senior consultant, medicine, GMC Srinagar, and is also influenza and pandemic expert. He has been at the forefront in the fight against the pandemic by treating Covid-19 patients tirelessly since the public health crisis began in 2020,” the statement said.
The spokesperson further said when people, including healthcare workers, were initially hesitant to take the vaccine, Dr Nisar was among the first to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
“The DAK has set up helpline numbers to address the public concerns related to Covid-19. And recently, we received a call from a young male, an engineer by profession, who developed severe anaphylaxis to Covaxin for which he was hospitalised. He wanted to know if he can receive a second dose of the same vaccine,” he said.
“In response to this, the DAK issued a statement asking people who are allergic to the components of the vaccine not to take the jab, lest they might face any severe reaction, hampering their lives and also creating doubts in the minds of people vis-à-vis the vaccine,” he said.
