Is Covid vaccine to blame? – Firstpost

Heart attack-related deaths have gone up alarmingly in Karnataka’s Hassan district.

In the past 40 days, 23 people have died after suffering heart attacks.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has now set up a team of experts, led by Dr Ravindranath from the Jayadeva Institute, to find out what is behind the spike. The panel has been asked to give its report in 10 days.

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The Chief Minister has also questioned whether the Covid vaccine might have anything to do with these deaths.

So, what’s really going on in Hassan? Is there a link between the vaccine and the deaths, as the state government claims?

Let’s take a look:

What happened?

In just 40 days, Karnataka’s Hassan district has reported 23 deaths, all caused by heart attacks.

Another troubling concern is that many of those who died were either young or middle-aged.

Data from May 28 to June 29, 2025, indicates a concerning view across age groups.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah links Covid vaccines with surge in heart attack-related deaths in Hassan, triggers political row

News18’s @harishupadhya and @Elizasherine with details

“Vaccines have been safe, they are not associated with cardiac diseases”: Dr Sanjeev Bagai… pic.twitter.com/c6wi3rDaeU

— News18 (@CNNnews18) July 2, 2025

The list includes four people under the age of 20 (two boys and two girls), one woman aged between 21 and 29, five men between 30 and 40, seven men aged 41 to 59, and one man over 60.

On Tuesday, a 27-year-old woodworker was the latest to die after suffering a heart attack.

This rise in cases has also led to an 8 per cent increase in patients visiting Jayadeva Hospital in Bengaluru over the past two weeks, mostly from Hassan and nearby areas.

Figures from the District Health and Family Welfare Department show that Hassan has seen 507 heart attack cases in the last two years, with 190 resulting in death, India Today reported.

What did the state government say?

A high-level meeting was held on June 30 at the office of the Hassan District Collector.

It was chaired by the Principal Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department and attended by key medical experts, including the Director of the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, the District Health and Family Welfare Officer, District Surgeon, Medical Superintendent, and the District Surveillance Officer.

An expert committee led by Dr Ravindranath has also been set up to find out what is behind the deaths and submit a report.

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

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, meanwhile, has raised doubts about whether there could be a link between these deaths and the Covid vaccine, adding that the vaccine may have been approved and rolled out too quickly.

He wrote on X, “Orders were given to this same committee back in February to conduct a thorough study on the reasons behind sudden deaths among young people in the state, and whether the Covid vaccines could have any adverse effects.”

“It cannot be denied that the hasty approval and distribution of the Covid vaccine to the public could also be a reason for these deaths, as several studies worldwide have recently indicated that Covid vaccines could be a cause for the increasing number of heart attacks,” he added.

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Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao told News18 that he has asked the expert team to visit the area, look into the deaths, and check if similar incidents are being reported in other parts of the state.

He also urged people not to panic and said the health department was treating the matter seriously. “Once we get the report, we will be able to speak with greater clarity. These are matters that must be properly investigated. Speculation at this stage could cause unnecessary alarm,” he said.

Health Ministry rejects links between Covid and cardiac arrests

On Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry said there is no evidence to suggest that Covid vaccines are causing sudden deaths among adults.

Citing studies by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the ministry said the issue had been looked into by multiple agencies.

“The matter of sudden unexplained deaths has been investigated through several agencies in the country. These studies have conclusively established that there is no direct link between Covid 19 vaccination and the reports of sudden deaths in the country,” it said in a statement.

#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

The government added that sudden cardiac deaths could be caused by many factors, such as genetics, lifestyle choices, underlying health problems, and even post-Covid complications.

“Studies by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) affirm that Covid-19 vaccines in India are safe and effective, with extremely rare instances of serious side effects. Sudden cardiac deaths can result from a wide range of factors, including genetics, lifestyle, pre-existing conditions, and post-Covid complications,” the press release said.

The spike in heart-related deaths has left doctors and health experts worried across different age groups.

Did the Covid vaccine play a role in the recent heart attack deaths? The expert panel’s findings are expected to give some answers soon.