One year without seizures; 23-year-old Karnataka nurse has convulsions after Covid-19 vaccination

Though epilepsy is not listed as a contraindication in factsheet of Covishield vaccine (which she was vaccinated with) provided by the govt, she had a convulsion

A 23-year-old Shwetha Khande, a nurse in Kalaburagi's Gulbarga Heart Foundation, who has a history of epilepsy, was vaccinated at the hospital she also works in, on February 5. Minutes later, she had a seizure and has been in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital since then.

She is likely to be moved out of the ICU on February 15, her family told DH. According to Indian Epilepsy Association there are 1.2 crore epilepsy patients in India.

Though epilepsy is not listed as a contraindication in the factsheet of Covishield vaccine (which she was vaccinated with) provided by the government, she had a convulsion. Her brother Rajshekar Khande says the fact that she had an episode minutes after being injected is proof that it was triggered by vaccination, despite her epilepsy history.

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Shwetha spoke to DH from the ICU on February 12. She said, "I have had epilepsy for four years now but have not had an episode since February 2020, as I have been regularly taking the medication. I had five episodes on the day of the vaccination, on February 5, the first one was within 10-15 minutes of taking the vaccine.

Between 12.30 pm and 1 pm, I was vaccinated following which I had giddiness, blurred vision, and sweating. In the waiting room, I had two convulsions after which I was shifted to the ICU."

"On February 12, I had three episodes. I have facial jerkings in my sleep. I have no sensation in the left side of my body. There is a slight sensation in the lower limbs of my body. My doctor said it may have been triggered by the vaccine," she said.

This has been brought to the notice of the district health authorities, but the absence of a neurologist on the district AEFI (Adverse Event Following Immunisation) committee didn't help in establishing or excluding a causal relationship between vaccination and seizures, said Dr Prabhuling Mankar, District Immunisation Officer.

Dr Anil Talikoti, district surveillance medical officer, said they could not reach a conclusion as medical records weren't available with them when the committee met on February 9 and will submit a final report to the state later.

The family wants the episode to be thoroughly investigated as there are many epilepsy patients in the State who may be in line to get vaccinated.

The Advisor to the National AEFI Committee for Covid-19, Dr NK Arora, said, "I will follow it up and ensure that detailed investigation is done. Seventy lakh doses have been given across the country. We do not have information about seizures happening in others. One to 1.5% of the population have epilepsy.

The national AEFI committee will do a detailed causality assessment to see whether the seizure has been precipitated due to immunisation or it was a coincidental event particularly in the light that she is a known epileptic. Any death and hospitalisation is considered a serious AEFI."