PANAJI
Governments and experts here and across the globe may deny any links between Covid-19 vaccines and the unusual trend of relatively young and middle-aged people dying of heart-attacks and strokes but the debate and animated conversations surrounding the safety of the hurriedly approved vaccines persist.
Goa is not immune to this trend and the debate here has got rekindled to a degree after a string of such deaths occurred recently. In the last week alone the deaths of at least three young persons have been discussed widely on social media platforms.
#GoneTooSoon and #TooYoungToDie were some of the hashtags used to express shock over the passing away of at least two well-known persons in the week that went by -- Panaji resident Naina D'Silva e Bravo da Costa and Margao resident Hazzlit Fernandes.
Such conversations, revolving around the inexplicability of the trend of heart attacks and strokes among relatively younger people and its possible link to Covid-19 vaccines, are also not uncommon among the medical fraternity.
At least three well-known physicians and a cardiologist have admitted to The Goan, albeit confidentially, that the possible link is often discussed in the fraternity, although there never is any conclusion or closure to the discussion.
"Of course there is discussion. But we cannot say...there is no definite evidence...that it is because of the vaccine," said Dr Pradip Naik, when asked if the trend of heart attacks and strokes among the young is being discussed by doctors as a possible vaccine safety issue within their circles.
Dr Naik, who recently took over as President of the Goa branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said several of these conversations among colleagues also point to the possibility of these cases being the outcome of 'long Covid'.
"Any new virus can have a long-term effect which may lead to life-threatening diseases," Dr Naik said, adding that hepatitis-B is known to cause liver cancer in chronic cases.
"This Coronavirus is new. The research is ongoing. The prognosis and info on 'long Covid' is still evolving...These sudden heart-attacks and strokes could also possibly be because of long Covid," Dr Naik added.
Evidence or no evidence, lay people continuing to hotly debate and discuss the perception that such sudden deaths are probably because of the side effects of the Covid-19 shots, will inevitably continue for a long time to come.
