ABSTRACT
This paper scrutinises the Supreme Court Judgment of May 2, 2022, in a vaccine mandate-related petition. The Hon'ble Court’s Order reasserts the primacy of right to privacy and Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. However, in the interest of protection of communitarian health, the Court felt that the Government is entitled to regulate issues of public health concern by imposing certain limitations on individual rights, which are open to scrutiny by constitutional Courts. However, such mandatory vaccination directives with preconditions cannot invade an individual's right to personal autonomy and right to access means of livelihood, and must meet the threefold criteria laid down in K.S.Puttaswamy, a landmark judgment of 2017. This paper examines the validity of the arguments adopted in the Order and suggests certain infirmities therein. Nevertheless, the Order is a balancing act, and worth celebrating. The paper concludes, as a cup that is “a quarter full”, as a victory for human rights and as a safeguard against unreasonableness and arbitrariness in medico-scientific decision-making that takes the citizen’s compliance and consent for granted. If the State runs amok by way of mandatory health directives, this Order may come to the rescue of the hapless citizen
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations have been associated with a higher risk of thromboembolic events. There have been no reports of central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) after vaccination with the indigenously developed Covaxin, and worldwide, there has been only one such isolated case after administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine. We report a case of a 44-year-old healthy man who presented with sudden painless vision loss in his left eye 10 days after receiving Covaxin. His best-corrected visual acuity was minimal perception of light, with a relative afferent pupillary defect. Fundus examination revealed arterial attenuation and macular cherry red spot, suggesting an acute CRAO. Optical coherence tomography showed macular swelling and disorganization of the inner layers due to ischemic sequelae. Blood work was normal and cardiovascular examination was unremarkable. The patient was kept on follow-up. To our knowledge, this is the first case of an isolated CRAO after Covaxin administration, but further studies are needed to evaluate this potential association.
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A few cases of posterior uveitis following COVID-19 vaccination have been reported but none in the pediatric age group. A 15-year-old girl presented with history of headache and bilateral blurred vision of five days duration. The symptoms developed five days after vaccination with the first dose of Covaxin (inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine). Her anterior segment was normal in both eyes (BE), whereas the posterior segment showed mild vitritis with disc edema and multiple yellowish lesions at the level of choroid clustered at the macula and associated with multiple serous detachments. BE uveitis resolved, and the vision was completely recovered three weeks after treatment with steroids. Hence, ophthalmologists should be aware of uveitis following vaccination—a condition that is usually benign, transient, and results in excellent outcomes with timely diagnosis and early treatment with steroids.
ABSTRACT
Introduction : disease is very much required for future preparedness. To assess the epidemiological andObjective : clinical profile of cases of COVID 19 Cross sectional descriptive study was carried out at a RuralMethod : Health Training Centre (RHTC). All cases reported in the month of January 2022 were included in the study. The information about the epidemiological and clinical profile was collected from RHTC records by conducting telephonic interview. Total 83 cases were reported. Among them, 43 (54.4%) casesResults : were in age group 20-39 years. Male: Female ratio was 1.37:1. There was one death and patient had ovarian cancer as co-morbidity. Total 71 patients could be contacted for telephonic interview. Fever was most common symptom and was presenting symptom on first day followed by cough/cold and sore throat. None had shortness of breath or chest pain. Hospitalization rate was 5.63% and none required oxygen supplementation or intensive care. Recovery period was 3-5 days. Out of total, 90% cases were fully vaccinated and 95.8% had knowledge of CAB. Diabetes and hypertension were most common co- morbidities and were statistically significantly more in age > 40 years. The COVID-19 cases inConclusions : the beginning of year 2022 had clinical presentation different than the earlier waves. Periodic situational analysis can guide in policy making for handling this pandemic in future.
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Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the levels of neutralizing antibody after COVID vaccination in the elderly and compare it with that of the younger persons. The study also aimed at determining the association between the age, sex, and comorbidities and levels of neutralizing antibodies in the young and the old. Subjects and Methods: This was a single-center, cross-sectional, analytical study, conducted in the General Medicine Unit of ACS Medical College, Chennai, from August 2021 to October 2021. Forty?five elderly persons aged 60 years and above and 103 young adults aged 18 years and above and <60 years who were vaccinated with either COVISHIELD or COVAXIN were randomly selected to participate in this study. A detailed history regarding vaccination status, vaccination type, comorbidities, and breakthrough infection was obtained. Blood samples were collected from the participants to analyze the levels of neutralizing antibodies developed after COVID vaccination. Results: The mean age of the older participants was 66.13 ± 5.3 years and the mean age of the younger participants was 36.48 ± 10.9 years. The median level of neutralizing antibody in the younger participants was 97.4% (interquartile range [IQR]: 96.4%–98.0%) and in the older participants was 97.1% (IQR: 93.1%–97.6%). There was a significant difference in the neutralizing antibody level between the younger and the older participants (P = 0.033). There was no significant difference in the neutralizing antibody levels after two doses of either of the two vaccines among both the groups of participants. There was no significant association between the neutralizing antibody titer and sex and comorbidities in both the groups of participants. Five young and two old participants had breakthrough infections after vaccination. The antibody level was higher in persons with breakthrough infection than in those with no breakthrough infection in both the study groups. Conclusion: There was a significant difference in the neutralizing antibody level between the younger and the older participants after COVID vaccination. No significant difference existed in neutralizing antibody response with respect to the type of vaccine in both the study groups. There was no significant association between sex, comorbid status, and neutralizing antibody levels in both the groups.
ABSTRACT
Guillain Barre syndrome (GBS)is a collection of clinical syndromes that manifest as an acute inflammatory poly radiculopathy. It usually presents as an acute, non-febrile, monophonic, post infectious illness manifesting as ascending weakness and areflexia. It is an autoimmune disorder characterized by production of antibodies against the myelin and is often triggered by bacterial and viral infections, vaccines against rabies, flu and COVID-19. Here we present a case of 31 years old male with characteristic signs and symptoms of GBSpossibly triggered by Covishield vaccine.
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Background: - COVID-19 is the most important public health problem of recent time. Many people require hospitalization after infection. COVID vaccination is the most effective way to prevent the disease. Due to extensive negative publicity through social media channels/platforms,significant number of individuals are not coming forward for vaccination. Therefore, study is needed to evaluate adverse effects associated with different vaccines available in India. Objectives: - To assess the adverse effects associated with COVID-19 vaccination and compare the side effect of two most commonly used COVID vaccines in India. Methods:- In the current report, a cross sectional study was conducted among beneficiaries of COVID-19 vaccines at the vaccination center of the LLRM Medical college, India. After institutional ethical clearance and informed consent, patients were asked about the symptoms they experienced after vaccination. A very simple random sampling approach was used to select beneficiaries. Information was collected on predesigned Google form and total 391 patients submitted the responses. Results:- Out of total respondents 77 % individuals reported one or more symptoms. Fever was reported to be most common problem (59.3%) followed by body ache (57.5%). Out of total beneficiaries, 68.3% experienced mild symptoms while 23% remain asymptomatic. Only few subjects reported moderate adverse effects (8.7%). None of the respondent reported severe and serious adverse effect. Conclusions:- Vaccine associated adverse effects were found less than 3 days and of mild variety in most of the beneficiaries. There was no difference in adverse effect profile of two commonly used vaccines in India. People must come forward for vaccination in mass without fearing of adverse effects of vaccines.