The district health committee has launched a helpline number for Covid-19 vaccine beneficiaries developing adverse reactions following the immunisation.

The After Event Following Immunization (AEFI) cases can call 9608264821 if they are suffering from side effects like itching, headache, abdominal pain, body ache or fever and other complications.

Dr Vikas Rana, District Reproductive and Child Health Officer, told The Telegraph Online: “We were not receiving district level feedbacks with regard to effects of covid vaccination and thus launched the helpline number to get feed backs and ensure necessary intervention to manage any side effect or complication for which proper arrangement are in place at different hospitals of the district including, Sadar Hospitals.”

The minor side effects of Covishield site tenderness, injection site pain, headache, fatigue, myalgia, malaise, pyrexia, chills, arthralgia and nausea etc. Similarly, for Covaxin, minor side effects include injection site pain and swelling, headache, fatigue, fever, body ache, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, giddiness, tremor, sweating, cold and cough.

“We are getting unverified news about side effects of Covid vaccination which sometimes creates confusion among other people who have yet not taken the vaccine,” said Rana.

“Our aim by launching the helpline number is to get the feedback and provide support to vaccinated people to manage his complication and at same time preventing the confusion among others,” said Rana and added, within an hour of launching the helpline at around 10pm he has received over six calls.

Around 1,613 were vaccinated on Thursday at 10 centers across the district including 468 at Sadar Hospital, Dhanbad, 213 at CHC Jharia; 99 at CHC Tundi; 131 at CHC Baliapur; 182 at CHC Baghmara; 131 at CHC Govindpur; 100 at CHC Topchanchi; 167 at CHC Nirsa; 92 at Central Hospital of BCCL and 30 at Sahid Nirmal Memorial Medical College and Hospital.