A total of 447 Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) have been reported in the last two days of the massive inoculation drive against COVID-19 that is now underway in the country. Of them, three cases were serious in nature and required hospitalisation, the Union Health Ministry said on January 17.

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The three cases occurred at different hospitals cum vaccination centres, the ministry added. "One has been discharged from Northern Railway Hospital Delhi within 24 hours. One has been discharged from AIIMS Delhi. One is under observation in AIIMS Rishikesh and is fine," the Health and Family Welfare Ministry said.

Meanwhile, as many as 2,24,311 beneficiaries have received doses of COVID vaccines in 553 sessions of vaccination till Sunday held across the country, the ministry added. IANS earlier reported that a 22-year-old security guard at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, was admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) after he developed an allergic reaction here following inoculation a day ago. The guard had suffered headache, rash, respiratory distress, and tachycardia.

However, the ministry missed the serious adverse event the Delhi government recorded in its list on January 16 where a healthcare worker of NDMC Charak Pallika Hospital had to be hospitalised post inoculation in the hospital. The healthcare worker was, however, discharged after few hours of observation.

The ministry also stressed that majority of the the adverse event are minor in nature and may or may not be related to the vaccination process. "An adverse event following immunisation is any unexpected medical occurrence which follows immunisation. It may or may not be related to vaccine or vaccination process. Majority of the AEFIs are minor in nature: pain, mild swelling at injection site, mild fever, body ache, nausea, giddiness and mild allergic reactions like rashes, etc," it said.