A healthcare worker in Telangana passed away on Wednesday, 20 January a day after he was given the COVID-19 vaccine. While the postpartum is yet to be conducted, the state’s Director of Public Health and Welfare has said that the death seems to be unrelated to the vaccine.

The 42-year-old worker was administered the vaccine on 19 January. He developed chest pain at 2.30 AM the next morning, and was brought dead to the hospital after about three hours.

The world’s largest vaccination drive was kicked off on 16 January in India. This is the third reported death in the country following vaccination, but the health ministry has clarified that the previous two incidents were also unrelated to the vaccine.

Amidst the many apprehensions that people have about the corona vaccination, AIIMS director Randeep Guleria has assured people that no person will die from the vaccine itself.

The vaccine that is approved for use is safe and effective. In many studies and scientific reviews, no correlation has been found between vaccination and death except in rare cases, says Dr Guleria.

However, no vaccine is completely risk-free and serious adverse events can sometimes come up after vaccination.

ICMR's COVID-19 National Task Force's head of operations research, Dr NK Arora, says in this report by The Hindu, “It is important for people to know that the vulnerable population - elderly people, people with diabetes, chronic lung disease, high blood pressure, kidney problems, diseases like cancer can suffer from heart attack or any other sudden health problems. We cannot and should not associate it with the vaccine.”