Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday said that various studies by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) affirm that COVID-19 vaccines in India are safe and effective, with extremely rare instances of serious side effects.
“Sudden cardiac deaths can result from a wide range of factors, including genetics, lifestyle, pre-existing conditions, and post-COVID complications,” it stated.
According to the ministry, the ICMR and NCDC have been working together to understand the causes behind sudden unexplained deaths, especially in young adults between the ages of 18 and 45 years.
To explore this, two complementary studies were undertaken using different research approaches—one based on past data and another involving real-time investigation.
The first study, conducted by ICMR’s National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), was titled “Factors associated with unexplained sudden deaths among adults aged 18-45 years in India – A multicentric matched case–control study.” The findings have conclusively showed that COVID-19 vaccination does not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death in young adults.
“This study was carried out from May to August 2023 across 47 tertiary care hospitals in 19 states and Union Territories. It looked at individuals who appeared to be healthy but died suddenly between October 2021 and March 2023,” it added.
The second study, titled “Establishing the cause in sudden unexplained deaths in young,” is currently being conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi with funding and in collaboration with ICMR.
Together, these two studies offer a more comprehensive understanding of sudden unexplained deaths in young adults in India. It has also been revealed that COVID-19 vaccination does not appear to increase the risk, whereas, the role of underlying health issues, genetic predisposition and risky lifestyle choices does play a role in unexplained sudden deaths.
