'Caution Not Anti-Science': Siddaramaiah On Covid Vaccine-Sudden Death Claim
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has responded to Biocon Ltd Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw's suggestion that he acknowledge the science behind vaccine development, rather than engage in retrospective blame.
The chief minister shot back, "Seeking answers is not retrospective blame. It is the duty of a government that values every life."
Siddaramaiah had fired the first shot with his post on X on July 1 that the state government ordered a study to find the reasons behind sudden deaths among young people in Karnataka, and whether Covid vaccines could have any role in them.
This had prompted the reaction from the Biocon chief, who pointed out that the chief minister's claim that the vaccines were hastily approved was "factually incorrect and contributed to public misinformation".
On Thursday, Siddaramaiah doubled down on his claim.
"As Chief Minister, I have a duty to respond to the genuine concerns of people who have lost loved ones unexpectedly. When parents lose their young children or families lose breadwinners without warning, seeking clarity is not misinformation; it is an act of governance rooted in empathy," he said.
"Scientific caution is not anti-science. Many peer-reviewed studies (such as Nature, Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology) have discussed myocarditis and cardiac arrest risk, particularly among young adults post-vaccination. Publicly funded stakeholders must acknowledge both the benefits and the potential risks without fear or favour.
"When I said 'hastily', it reflects the unprecedented speed of emergency rollouts globally without complete long-term data, acknowledged even by WHO and global regulatory agencies, who termed it a 'calculated risk' during a pandemic. Haste is not a sin when saving lives, but acknowledging potential unintended consequences is wisdom," Siddaramaiah said in a long post on X.
On Wednesday, the Union Health Ministry dismissed the Karnataka chief minister's comment, saying extensive studies by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have conclusively established no linkages between coronavirus vaccines and sudden deaths.
Studies by the ICMR and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) also affirm that Covid-19 vaccines in India are safe and effective, with extremely rare instances of serious side effects, it said.
Sudden cardiac deaths can result from a wide range of factors, including genetics, lifestyle, pre-existing conditions, and post-covid complications, the ministry had said in a statement.
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