A study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) found that the Covid-19 vaccination does not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India, as informed by the government to Parliament on Friday.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question, stated that post-hospitalization due to Covid-19, family history of sudden death, and certain lifestyle behaviors contribute to the likelihood of unexplained sudden deaths.
The minister responded to a query about reported instances linking Covid vaccination to heart attacks in the country, clarifying that while sudden deaths have been reported in some individuals after contracting Covid, sufficient evidence is not available to confirm the cause of such deaths.
To address concerns about a potential increase in cardiac arrest cases after Covid, the ICMR’s National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) conducted a study titled “Factors associated with unexplained sudden deaths among adults aged 18-45 years in India — A multicentric matched case-control study” at 47 tertiary-care hospitals across 19 states and Union territories from May to August.
The study involved apparently healthy individuals aged 18-45 years without known co-morbidities, who suddenly died of unexplained causes between October 1, 2021, and March 31, 2023. The research included four controls per case, matched for age, gender, and neighborhood. Information was collected on Covid vaccination, infection, post-Covid conditions, and family history of sudden death, smoking, recreational drug use, alcohol frequency, binge drinking, and vigorous-intensity physical activity two days before death.
