Both Covishield and Covaxin may be less effective in Diabetes patients: Diabetes patients show lesser seropositivity, says Dr Pranav Kabra

MUMBAI: Diabetes patients – both suffering from Type 1 and Type 2 forms of diabetes may not be fully protected even after taking both doses of the vaccine, and need to take other adequate precautions including masking, social distancing, etc., till the prevalence of the virus in the surroundings completely wears off, opines Dr Pranav Kabra of the Raksha Multispecialty Hospital in suburban Mumbai.

Seropositivity levels in patients suffering from diabetes are significantly lower than those without diabetes and even the duration of the prevalence of the antibodies produced in the body after vaccination are much lower, Dr Kabra said.

Seropositivity refers to the production of antibodies in an individual and is measured in absorbance units per milliliter (AU/mL). Diabetes patients exhibit lower percentage of antibodies in their system even after recovery from Covid, as compared to non-diabetics, Dr Kabra said.

Statistics show that 94 percent of Covid patients in India who had the fungal infection Mucormycosis also known as Black Fungus, also suffered from diabetes.

People suffering from diabetes are often affected with hyperglycemia or high blood glucose, which puts them at further risk of black fungus infection. Patients with a normal initial glycemic profile may develop stress hyperglycemia during the course of illness, especially if the severity of covid-19 infection increases, opine experts.

Dr Kabra who has treated hundreds of Covid patients since last year at various hospitals in and around Mumbai was of the opinion that diabetes greatly manipulates the impact of vaccination and patients need to be very careful as it is not a

The prevalence of diabetes in the Indian population is 8.9%, according to the IDF. According to the IDF estimates, India has the second highest number of children with Type 1 diabetes after the United States. Another estimate by the Government of India, projects about 11.8 per cent of the population exhibits prevalence of diabetes.

There are an estimated 79 to 80 million diabetics in the country, though the real number may never be known. A lot of diabetics are not even aware that they are suffering from the lifestyle disease as they do not bother to get tested.

Nearly 50 to 55 million people in India suffer from Type – 2 diabetes

The CPR (Crude prevalence rate) in the urban areas of India is thought to be 9 per cent. In rural areas, the prevalence is approximately 3 per cent of the total population. India is fast becoming the diabetes capital of the world and is likely to surpass China in the next 5 to 10 years.

Currently, China has the maximum number of diabetics in the world.

According to news reports, another study posted on the preprint repository MedRxiv on June 4, and covering 515 healthcare workers (HCW) – 305 men and 210 women – from 22 cities in 13 states, has found that the Covishield vaccine produces more antibodies than Covaxin though both generate a “good immune response”