The central government has already clarified that there are no side effects of the Covid-19 vaccines, said Assam Health Minister Keshab Mahanta on Wednesday.

Mahanta dismissed claims that there were side effects of taking the precautionary jabs of the Covid-19 vaccines. He mentioned that Centre consulted several experts in connection with the matter.

Earlier, the Union health ministry had reiterated that only a small percentage of the patients who have taken the Covid-19 vaccine have a chance of developing serious adverse events depending on certain circumstances. The health ministry went on to refute claims of various side effects of the vaccines.

Several media reports emerged claiming that the Central Drugs and Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) accepted in answer to an RTI enquiry that there were “multiple side-effects of Covid-19 vaccines.”

According to the ministry, it is “erroneous information” that CDSCO and ICMR reported several effects related to all Covid-19 vaccinations.

A statement from the ministry said, “It is clarified that the news report is ill-informed and provides erroneous information.”

The Union health ministry has warned that recipients of the various Covid-19 doses available in the market may experience moderate side effects like soreness at the injection site, pain, headache, weariness, myalgia, malaise, pyrexia, chills and arthralgia. Based on predisposing factors, only a very small number of people are very less likely to develop severe adverse side effects.

The benefits of the vaccine outweigh the negative effects by a lot, the ministry said, as international research studies have shown that the Covid-19 vaccine has helped in reducing the severity of the virus and also helped in preventing deaths.

So far in India, the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered under the immunization campaign, stood at 220.17 crore, the health ministry added.