70% Covid patients who died in Delhi from 9 to 12 January were unvaccinated, govt data shows

Report aggregates data on 97 Covid deaths shared by 7 private & govt hospitals in Delhi. Among those partially or fully vaccinated, deaths primarily attributed to comorbidities.

File photo of a health worker administering a dose of Covid vaccine to a beneficiary during a vaccination camp | PTI

New Delhi: Over 70 per cent (70 of 97) Covid-19 patients who died in the national capital between 9 and 12 January were not vaccinated, according to a Delhi government report.

Among those who were partially or fully vaccinated, the deaths were primarily due to comorbidities, it added. Among the unvaccinated adults who died, only three were reported to have no known comorbidities, the report said. 

ThePrint has accessed a consolidated report of the Delhi government that aggregated data shared by seven private and government hospitals in the city on 97 Covid deaths that occurred between 9 and 12 January.

The data shows that, of the 97 Covid patients who died, 70 were unvaccinated and 19 were only partially vaccinated. Only eight were fully vaccinated. 

The highest number of deaths, 37, was among those in the age group of 41-60 years, while 27 deaths were among those in the 60-80 age group, and 18 deaths were among those in the 19-40 age group. Eight patients were over 80 years of age, while seven were paediatric patients (Covid vaccination for minors only began earlier this month).

Heart, lung and kidney disease were some of the commonly reported comorbidities among the 97 patients. 

The data shows that the majority of the deaths occurring in Delhi in the current wave are among those who have not received the vaccines, and have pre-existing diseases that put them at higher risk of death, the report said.

‘Most of the vaccinated patients who died had comorbidities’

The report elaborates on a sub-group of 37 (all age groups) from the 97 Covid patients who died. 

Ten of these 37 patients were partially or fully vaccinated. Among them, most were suffering from comorbidities that worsened their condition, according to the report. Only three — a 42-year-old woman, a 70-year-old man and a 29-year-old man — had no record of comorbidities.

The 29-year-old man was, however, diagnosed with subacute intestinal obstruction, the report said.

Among the Covid patients who died in Delhi in the past week were three infants who had serious ailments such as thalassemia and heart disease. 

Additionally, a 6-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy who died had liver disease, according to the government report. A 16-year-old girl who died on 12 January was suffering from extrapulmonary tuberculosis with severe anaemia.

Delhi’s Principal Health Secretary Manisha Saxena told ThePrint: “There are some reports about death of infants due to Covid. In these cases, the child had a history of severe ailments. One had tuberculosis and two had liver disease. So to say that these were Covid deaths would be misleading.”

(With inputs from Abhishek Dey)

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)