Vaccinated anganwadi teacher dies in Telangana; unrelated to jab, say doctors

Naveen S Garewal 
Tribune News Service 
Hyderabad, January 31 

Telangana reported its third death among recipients of COVID-19 vaccine. An Anganwadi teacher in Mancherial District died at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Hyderabad from what doctors said was a lung ailment and high blood pressure. The 55-year-old Susheela had been vaccinated on January 19. 

Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Dr M Neeraja said Susheela had been under their care since the past two days only as he was shifted to NIMS following a deterioration in her blood pressure.  

Relatives of the patient said she had been given the vaccine at primary health centre in Kasipet, but ever since she was fine but on Saturday, she began complaining of shortness of breath and giddiness. She was under treatment at Medilife Hospital at Mancherial and was shifted to Hyderabad where she died around 11 pm on Saturday night. 

Doctors said, “the death occurred due to the cardio-respiratory arrest triggered by multiple morbidities such as kyphoscoliosis with restricted lung disease, respiratory infection with type 2 respiratory failure accelerated hypertension with left ventricular failure”. 

 Earlier a 42-year-old doctor who was administered the vaccine on January 19 at Kuntala Primary Health Centre, Nirmal had developed chest pain and was brought dead to District Hospital at Nirmal in the early hours of January 20. 

The second case was of a 45-year-old female healthcare worker vaccinated on January 19 at a primary health centre in Warangal Urban district, who died on January 24.  

Meanwhile, the Telangana Health Minister E Rajender said at a function that these deaths were not because of the vaccine, but due to comorbidities. He said an educational programme would be launched to dispel all fear from the minds of the people and to educate them.  

 “Today people need more confidence and courage. To dispel these alleged fears, I volunteered to take the vaccine. Today 25 to 30 per cent health workers still have not taken the vaccine,” he said. Telangana so far has received eight lakh doses and vaccinated 1,68,589 healthcare workers.