Health experts and industry voices have dismissed Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah’s suggestion that Covid vaccines may be responsible for a recent spate of heart attack deaths in Hassan district, calling the claim “factually incorrect” and “misleading.”
An ongoing AIIMS-ICMR study has examined 300 cases of sudden death among people under 40, and found that while all had been vaccinated, heart attacks were more often linked to lifestyle issues like alcohol use, obesity, smoking, and genetic predispositions.
“There’s no conclusive evidence the vaccine caused cardiac arrests,” said Dr S. Narang of AIIMS during a news conference on Thursday. "While older individuals often suffer cardiac arrests due to arterial blockages, in younger people, sudden deaths may also be linked to genetic heart conditions, binge drinking, drug use, or excessive exercise post-COVID."
The Serum Institute of India (SII), manufacturer of Covishield, cited the same AIIMS and ICMR-backed research and said there was no link between the jabs and sudden deaths.
"The vaccines are safe and scientifically validated," SII said in a statement.
The controversy started Tuesday when the CM asked whether the Covid vaccines could have any adverse effects.
“It cannot be denied that the hasty approval and distribution of the Covid vaccine to the public could also be a reason for these deaths, as several studies worldwide have recently indicated that Covid vaccines could be a cause for the increasing number of heart attacks,” Siddaramaiah wrote on X.
Siddaramaiah’s comments came after 23 people — many of them young or middle-aged — died of heart attacks over just 40 days in Karnataka’s Hassan district.
He urged people not to ignore symptoms like chest pain or breathing trouble and to seek immediate medical help.
Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Thursday opposed Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah's remarks linking covid-19 vaccines with a spate of heart attack deaths in the state's Hassan district, saying such claims are "'factually incorrect" and "misleading".
"Covid-19 vaccines developed in India were approved under the Emergency Use Authorisation framework, following rigorous protocols aligned with global standards for safety and efficacy. To suggest that these vaccines were 'hastily' approved is factually incorrect and contributes to public misinformation," Shaw said.
"These vaccines have saved millions of lives and, like all vaccines, may cause side effects in a very small number of individuals. It is important to acknowledge the science and data-driven processes behind their development, rather than engage in retrospective blame," Shaw, Executive Chairperson of the pharma company, said.
Backing her, the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance said such “distortion of facts” risked public health and undermined global trust in science and patient care.
The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) said, "Misinformation and distortion of facts endanger public health and undermine the trust built on science and patient care globally" and asserted that Covid vaccines have been well-documented and rigorously tested according to regulatory standards, playing a crucial role in combating the pandemic.
" These vaccines have been well documented and rigorously tested as per regulatory processes," IPA secretary general Sudarshan Jain said.
The Union health ministry on Tuesday said there was no evidence to back claims that Covid vaccines cause sudden deaths by quoting Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) studies.
“The matter of sudden unexplained deaths has been investigated through several agencies in the country. These studies have conclusively established that there is no direct link between Covid 19 vaccination and the reports of sudden deaths in the country,” the ministry said. “Spreading such claims without proper evidence is harmful. Vaccines saved millions of lives during the pandemic. Such false claims can damage trust in vaccines.”
