Chennai (Tamil Nadu) July 2, 2025 (ANI): As concerns rise over spate of sudden cardiac deaths in Karnataka, the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has clarified that there is no conclusive evidence linking COVID-19 vaccines to the recent spike in heart attack cases.
00:00We did a very large study in 2023 to find whether COVID-19 vaccination is associated with sudden deaths.
00:09COVID-19 vaccination is in fact not associated with sudden deaths.
00:14On the contrary, what we found that COVID-19 vaccination offered protection against sudden deaths.
00:20So people who received COVID-19 vaccination had a lower risk of dying suddenly or sudden deaths.
00:26So one important message I would like to give is that our study, which is a fairly large study conducted across 47 centers in India,
00:35indicated that COVID-19 vaccination was not associated with sudden deaths.
00:40We did a very large study in 2023 to find whether COVID-19 vaccination is associated with sudden deaths.
00:48And so what in this study, what we did was about 800 patients of sudden deaths who died because of sudden deaths were included.
00:59And about four times of control, about 3000 controls were included in the study.
01:04And so the findings of our study indicated that COVID-19 vaccination is in fact not associated with sudden deaths.
01:12On the contrary, what we found that COVID-19 vaccination offered protection against sudden deaths.
01:19So people who received COVID-19 vaccination had a lower risk of dying suddenly or sudden deaths.
01:25We also identified other risk factors that were associated with sudden deaths.
01:29And that included patients who had severe COVID in the past, those who required hospitalization because of COVID,
01:37those who underwent unaccustomed exercise 48 hours prior to their death.
01:42Similarly, those who were binge drinkers and also those who had family history of sudden deaths.
01:48These were the important risk factors.
01:50So one important message I would like to give is that our study, which is a fairly large study conducted across 47 centers in India,
01:59indicated that COVID-19 vaccination was not associated with sudden deaths.
02:03It has been said by Karnataka chief minister that due to COVID vaccination, sudden deaths attacks, heart attacks have taken place.
02:12Even more people have died.
02:14And younger generation people have died.
02:15What do you want to do with response?
02:17Yeah, I mean, I heard about that news yesterday, about 20 odd cases or 20 odd sudden deaths in one district in a period of about two months.
02:28And I also understand that the government of Karnataka has constituted a high-level committee of experts, including cardiologists.
02:36And I think they would investigate the matter and they will find out what were the reasons for sudden deaths.
02:44I think let us wait.
02:46He also has mentioned that this committee will give its report in 10 days time.
02:50So I think let us wait till the report of committee comes.
02:53But the only thing I can say is from ICMR study, which was conducted about one and a half years back, COVID-19 vaccination was not found to be associated with certain deaths.
03:04Would the new survey need to be done on COVID vaccinations?
03:10I mean, COVID vaccination as such surveys may not be required.
03:14But we, ICMR, conducted four surveys to find out what proportion of India's population was exposed to COVID-19 virus or SARS-CoV-2 virus.
03:27And such survey now may not really be required because we know that even the following months vaccine was introduced, almost everybody in India received vaccine.
03:37And therefore, doing another survey at such a scale to find out how many of them have antibodies may not really be necessary.
03:47So can you get the numbers of COVID cases in India present and how is the situation?
03:51Yeah, again, like when COVID pandemic came, counting every case was important because once you identify every case, we would identify that case as contact, isolate them or quarantine them.
04:05isolate if they are positive, quarantine if they are negative, I mean, they don't have symptoms.
04:10So that was a strategy at that time.
04:12But now, really counting every case of COVID really is not necessary.
04:17And I saw that very recently there was an uptick of COVID cases in India.
04:23And also globally, several countries reported an increase in cases of this virus.
04:30So these studies, the main study, I would say, will be starting very soon.
04:35The last question, how about the COVID itself, the spread on India, the things, how we are controlling it and what the process we are doing to control the vaccine?
04:46See, in COVID, I mean, we really don't need any further vaccination.
04:52And that has been made amply clear by the Ministry of Health and all the state agencies that there is number of cases is really not high enough to warrant any vaccination.
05:02We also don't know whether the current vaccine would be effective against the newer variants because of the escape of immunity that is generated by earlier vaccine.
05:14So I think one should really, the preventive measure that one should take is about cuff etiquette and hygiene and ensuring that if you are ill, don't go in public spaces so that you don't spread the infection.
