Guwahati: A study conducted by physician-scientists of Assam Medical College Hospital (Dibrugarh), supported by an ICMR-accredited multidisciplinary research laboratory, has revealed that 55 per cent covishield vaccine Recipients experienced only mild Side effects Like fever and headache. These symptoms appeared within a week of receiving the first dose of the vaccine. Researchers confirmed no long-term adverse effects after one year.

“In our study, we found that 55 percent experienced minor adverse events Such as fever, headache, body ache and pain at the injection site. No adverse events occurred in the remaining 45 percent of recipients. After the second dose, minor adverse events following vaccination (AEFI) were seen in only 6.8 percent. Most importantly, no participant experienced any major adverse events during the entire one-year period of the study,” said Gayatri Gogoi, associate professor of pathology at AMCH, principal investigator of the study conducted in Dibrugarh district of Assam. .

Major (serious and serious) adverse events were defined as disabling, rare life-threatening conditions that may cause long-term problems. “Younger individuals had a higher incidence of minor adverse events than older individuals. “What is also interesting to note is that people who had co-morbidities or other health conditions saw fewer adverse events,” she said.

The study was conducted from July 2021 when the first Covishield vaccine was introduced to the public and followed the participants till June 2022 after receiving institutional ethics committee approval to conduct it. This data of research findings was recently accepted for publication in the renowned PubMed indexed journal called Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.

The doctor-research investigators felt the need to share real-time research data from Dibrugarh district, led by Gayatri Gogoi, also a renowned cancer researcher, along with Dr Gaurangi Gogoi, professor of community medicine at AMCH, Dr. Bhupendra Narayan Mahant is also included. , Professor of Medicine (currently posted at Lakhimpur Medical College Hospital) and Professor of Microbiology Dr Mithu Medhi (currently posted at Kokrajhar Medical College Hospital) after completing a study on Covishield vaccine effectiveness and AEFIs or side effects. The study was designed in consultation with Dr Biswajyoti Borkakoti, head of the Regional Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory, Regional Center for Medical Research-NE Region (ICMR), Dibrugarh, who was the nodal officer for the region for the time of the pandemic. Researchers said during the peak of the Delta variant wave in June 2021, it was found that 61 percent of participants had become infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The remaining 39 percent were sero-negative, meaning they had not been infected with the virus and had received the Covishield vaccine.

In terms of effectiveness or antibody development, 93 percent were positive and antibody levels were very high in the case of vaccination. In participants previously infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the first dose of Covishield vaccine acted as a booster dose and was sufficient to induce higher antibody titers in contrast to SARS-CoV-2 uninfected participants. “The final conclusion was that natural virus infection provides a stronger immune response than the Covishield vaccine alone,” Gogoi said.