The Indian government is not monitoring adverse events from COVID-19 vaccines.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has uploaded reports which gives details of adverse events from COVID-19 vaccines in India.

Indian public interest lawyer in the Supreme Court of India, Prashant Bhushan, tweeted on June 28 that "The [Indian] govt is not monitoring adverse events from vaccine nor releasing data." This tweet is part of a thread where he makes a series of anti-vax claims and says that he will not take the COVID-19 vaccine. We looked into his claim about the government and found it to be false. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) has uploaded three PDFs on its website giving details of adverse events reported after people were administered with the COVID-19 vaccine. The reports assess the causal relationship between the vaccine and the side effects and determine whether the vaccine caused them or not.

The Hindu also reported on February 4 that according to the Advisor to the National Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI) Committee for COVID-19, Dr. N.K. Arora, "data from the assessment of the deaths of health care and frontline workers would be placed in the public domain."

The AEFI committee also regularly submits reports to the MOHFW, giving details related to how many people have been vaccinated in India and how many adverse side effects have been reported through the CO-WIN platform. These reports of adverse side effects are then looked into to determine whether the vaccine caused it or not.

In another tweet, Bhushan has claimed that COVID-19 vaccines are not safe for children, violating the Nuremberg code. Several organizations have previously debunked both of these claims.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.

Reference links

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

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The Hindu

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mint

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World Health Organization

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