More than half of hospitalised Covid-19 cases among vaccinated in Bengaluru

About 56% of people hospitalised for Covid-19 in Bengaluru in July had received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Sources in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said that about 2,700 people were hospitalised between July 2 and 27. Of these, 1,600 had received at least one dose of a vaccine, comprising 1,200 Covishield and 400 Covaxin receivers.

Of the 1,200 Covishield receivers, about 450 had got the second dose. Among the 400 Covaxin receivers, 180 had the second dose.

These hospitalisations are indicative of the extent of vaccine penetration in the public, explained BBMP Chief Commissioner, Gaurav Gupta.

“If you take the data about the 45+ age group who are generally susceptible (to Covid-19), 82% have been vaccinated. So, I am not surprised that a lot of the hospitalised people have been vaccinated,” Gupta said.

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“We must ask for the doctor’s comments as to whether there is any difference between those who are vaccinated and those who are not vaccinated, for severity. We still require adequate data to come to any conclusion.”

Clinical indications are present in some hospitals. Research conducted at Apollo Hospital examined 500 patients with moderate to severe Covid-19 pneumonia admitted, for over 40 days between April 21 and May 30. They found that 148 patients were cases of breakthrough infection -- after being administered at least once by a vaccine.

Some 124 (84%) had received the Covishield, while 24 (16%) had received Covaxin. The median age was 58. The researchers, led by senior pulmonologist Dr Ravindra Mehta who is also a member of the BBMP’s Covid-19 task force committee, said the median time for hospitalisation from first dose to hospitalisation was 25 days and it was 18 days for second dose to admission.

About 19.5% of the vaccinated group (29 people) had severe symptoms, as compared to 125 people (35.5%) who had not been vaccinated. In addition, 66 of the vaccinated group required respiratory support at baseline. In the end, of the 20 patients who died, all had received just one dose of the vaccine. “All patients who received two doses (14 people) were eventually discharged from the hospital,” the researchers said.

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Currently, at Aster CMI, one out of three ICU Covid-19 patients had been vaccinated (with one dose). Dr Prakash Doraiswamy, Critical Care expert, said: “We have seen many cases of vaccinated patients getting Covid infection and re-infections but they did not suffer from any serious complications.”

Fortis hospitals, meantime, has seen about 15 such cases since June. “All of the ICU cases had only dose. This shows the importance of getting two doses,” said Dr Pruthu Narendra Dhekane, Infectious Diseases specialist at the Bannerghatta Road branch.