The Karnataka Government said Monday that sudden deaths among those below 45 years will be declared a notifiable disease to ascertain the cause behind the fatalities amid speculations over COVID-19 vaccines being responsible for such deaths in the state’s Hassan district.
Addressing a news conference, Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the government would start monitoring sudden deaths reported among those below the age of 45.
“Sudden deaths will be a notifiable disease. If someone dies suddenly outside a hospital, it should be reported to the government. An autopsy will also be compulsory to ascertain the cause of death,” Rao said, adding that the Health and Family Welfare Department would issue directions for the same.
On speculation that the vaccines were linked to cardiac deaths, he said there were complaints about mRNA vaccines causing myocarditis in some cases. “However, none from the country was administered with it,” the minister said, adding that the COVID-19 vaccines helped save lives.
The decision has been made based on the recommendations submitted by an expert committee formed under Dr C N Ravindranath, Director, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, to investigate sudden cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and cardiac deaths, and their possible links to COVID-19 vaccines.
The committee, however, found no causal link between the vaccines and cardiac deaths among the youth.
The committee was formed after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah linked a recent spike in heart attack deaths in Hassan district to COVID-19 vaccines. Siddaramaiah’s remarks had elicited a sharp response from Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who said Siddaramaiah must clarify whether he is weakening India to serve external interests.
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Dr Ravindranath, who was also present at the news conference, said there was a five to six per cent increase in cardiac deaths post-COVID, which he attributed to a change in risk factors for cardiac diseases due to altered lifestyle since the pandemic.
“Cardiac deaths are not caused by just one reason. It is multifactorial,” he said, adding that more than 50 per cent of the cases were caused by smoking.
Referring to a meta-analysis carried out by scientists on those affected by COVID-19, Dr Ravindranath said that 20 per cent of the patients who recovered continued to face fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and breathing problems. “But there were no heart attacks or cardiac-related diseases,” he added.