Vaccine side effects shown as more than what they were, causing anxiety: Guleria

New Delhi, Jan 19: AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria has on Tuesday said that some people are anxious about coronavirus vaccines because of the "infodemic" (over abundance of information, some of which is aimed at deliberately pushing false information to erode the credibility of public health responses) and the side effects being "highlighted as more than what they were".

"Therefore, a lot of people have had to work on reassuring others that there have been no short cuts (in vaccine trials and approval)," he added.

On asking what is the reason for vaccine hesitancy among health care workers, Guleria told HT, because of the things doing the rounds on social media, because of the side effects being highlighted as more than what they were, it created a lot of anxiety - not only among health care workers but also the public at large. And, therefore, a lot of people have had to work on reassuring others that there have been no short cuts (in vaccine trials and approval). The vaccine has come within a year, but that does not mean that there has been a compromise on safety. That (convincing people) is something we are still working on.

India on Saturday launched world's largest Covid-19 vaccination drive. Close to 250,000 healthcare workers were immunised on day one, of which 447 suffered adverse event following immunisation (AEFI). Three needed hospitalisation.

While it is being investigated in detail what caused the adverse reaction, here is a look at what World Health Organisation (WHO) defines as AEFI, and all other the terms associated with it.