'No Evidence Linking Covid Vaccines To Sudden Deaths': Top Health Official

In the backdrop of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah linking heart-related deaths in the state's Hassan district to Covid-19 vaccines, the Union Health Ministry and a senior health official have clarified that there is no evidence of a connection between the two.

Studies by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have not identified any significant changes in the pattern of causes of death compared to previous years, the ministry said. The research bodies have pointed instead to lifestyle factors, genetics, and pre-existing conditions as key contributors to such deaths.

The ICMR's National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) conducted a large-scale multicentric study titled 'Factors associated with unexplained sudden deaths among adults aged 18-45 years in India' from May to August 2023. This analysis looked at apparently healthy individuals who died suddenly between October 2021 and March 2023. According to the report, there was no evidence that Covid-19 vaccination increased the risk of sudden, unexplained deaths.

Dr Manoj Murhekar, director of ICMR-NIE, ruled out Covid-19 vaccines as a cause of the reported sudden deaths. "We have conducted studies across 50 hospitals in the country, and about 800 cases of sudden death were reviewed...and what we found is that Covid-19 vaccination is not associated with the sudden deaths," he said.

#HealthForAll

Extensive studies by @ICMRDELHI and AIIMS on sudden deaths among adults post COVID have conclusively established no linkage between COVID-19 vaccines and sudden deaths

Lifestyle and Pre-Existing Conditions identified as key factorshttps://t.co/QEN1X1PKfv

— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) July 2, 2025

Acknowledging concerns brought up by Mr Siddaramaiah over 20 people dying of heart attacks in Hassan district in a short span, Dr Murhekar said the state's investigation would be critical to explain the reasons behind these local incidents.

In the past month alone, in just one district of Hassan, more than twenty people have died due to heart attacks. The government is taking this matter very seriously. To identify the exact cause of these series of deaths and to find solutions, a committee of experts has been…

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 1, 2025

The ICMR-NIE director also noted that an AIIMS study titled, 'Establishing the cause in sudden unexplained deaths in young' is currently underway, wherein post-mortems are being performed to identify precise causes. This study will also prove, he said, that heart attacks continue to be the leading cause of sudden death, and no major shifts in patterns have been noted compared to pre-pandemic data.

The results of the AIIMS study are expected to shed light on the fact that genetic mutations or lifestyle-related factors might be involved in the sudden deaths. "To blame Covid vaccination might not be right," Dr Murhekar said.

The director pointed out that factors such as severe Covid infection requiring hospitalisation, sudden strenuous exercise, binge drinking, and drug use appeared to raise the risk of sudden death.

"Those who had severe Covid and those who required hospitalisation because of Covid had a higher risk of sudden death. Similarly, those who did exercises they were unaccustomed to had higher odds or higher risk of developing cardiac issues. Those who indulge in binge drinking or who are drug users are also at higher risk," said Dr Murhekar.