COVID-19 vaccines Are Helpful In Avoiding Death, Says ICMR Study

The data were collected between February 1 and May 14, when the country was in the midst of the pandemic's second wave.

According to the research, 32,792 police officers in Tamil Nadu received one dose of COVID vaccine, 67,673 received two doses, and 17,059 remained unvaccinated. During April 13 and May 14, this year, 31 deaths were reported among nearly 1.17 lakh police officers. It is been observed that four of the 31 people who died had received two doses of the vaccine, seven had received one dose, and the remaining 20 had not been vaccinated. The deceased was 52 years old on average, with a range of 34 to 58, and included 29 men and 2 women.

According to the study, the rate of COVID-19 deaths among those who did not get vaccinated of any dose, or one, and two doses was 1.17, 0.21, and 0.06 per 1000 police officers, respectively. It went on to explainthat, compared to uninfected people, those who got one and two doses of COVID-19 had a relative risk of mortality of 0.18 and 0.05, respectively.

The report continued that Vaccine effectiveness in preventing COVID-19 mortality with one and two doses was 82 percent and 95 percent. The findings of this study are compatible with existing studies indicating the effectiveness of vaccinations against severe sickness, according to the paper.

The study, however, had flaws, such as a lack of exact figures for each vaccination - Covaxin and Covishield - and no personal information for co-morbidities, age, or past COVID-19 exposure.

Dr. Manoj V Murhekar said that the Vaccine manufacturers do studies under tightly controlled conditions and in an ideal scenario, whereas this one is a real-world study on frontline workers. He added that a more in-depth study was being undertaken in ten Indian institutions, taking into account patient information such as age, co-morbidities, and other factors. According to him, the study's findings should be available by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, Mr. Shankar Jiwal, Chennai Commissioner of Police, there was widespread vaccine apprehension among police officers, ministerial staff, and family members in the early phases due to panic and a lack of information.