Are Covid Vaccine’s after-effects covered under Health Insurance Policies
The grisly COVID-19 outbreak has caused major disruptions to people’s health, finances, and the global economy. The government has imposed lockdowns, social distancing norms, and other protocols to combat the virus. Every nation has tried its best to develop and administer vaccines to control the growth and spread of this deadly COVID-19 among its citizens. That’s why many countries, including India, introduced vaccines by the end of 2020.
COVID-19 Vaccines
Launched on January 16, 2021, two preeminent COVID-19 vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) have been given to healthcare and frontline workers in India first. People above 60 years were in the second group who received vaccines from February 2, 2021, and people between 45 and 59 years with comorbid conditions became suitable for vaccinations from March 1, 2021. From May onwards, all adult populations were eligible for vaccination in India. Though the government has pushed everyone to get jabbed; still, many people refuse immunization because of the Covid vaccine after effects.
Many people have the fallacy that after getting jabbed, they may require hospitalization because of the Covid vaccine after-effects in India. They have feared that they may suffer from various other health problems due to the adverse effects of vaccines. And if they need hospitalization, they need to bear all healthcare expenses from their pockets as their health policies will not support them in this context. So many people purchased health insurance policies to strengthen their protection and safeguard their finances against COVID-19. But if they suffer from the Covid vaccine after effects weeks later, no policy will reimburse their treatment costs. That’s why initially, people were not willing to take vaccines.
Steps Taken
But on March 18, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) instructed that in an unlikely event of hospitalization following an adverse reaction to COVID-19 vaccination, the treatment of the vaccinated recipient will be covered by his/her health insurance policies. The IRDAI announced this statement after several reports raised questions on whether the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccination that may need hospitalization for treatment would be covered by a health insurance policy or not.
After getting the vaccination, a person may feel some discomforts like mild fever, chills, body ache, headache, pain in the vaccinated spot, etc. But most of these problems are mild and will resolve automatically within 2-3 days. Therefore, you hardly need hospitalization as a result of the Covid vaccine after effects. The IRDAI has mentioned that if you require hospitalization following an adverse reaction to COVID-19 vaccination, your hospitalization expenses will be covered under the health insurance policy as per some specific terms and conditions.
Many healthcare experts also believe that if the policyholder is hospitalized due to some adverse effects of the vaccine and if there is an active health insurance policy available, the policy should cover the costs of hospitalization because this is an emergency scenario. Therefore, health insurance companies have highly applauded and welcomed the clarification. They also believe that this instruction will help people overcome their fear regarding vaccine adverse effects, and it will also improve the total number of vaccinated people in India.
Many insurance professionals and experts also believe that this is a highly commended step the IRDIA takes. This customer-centric move will inspire more and more people to come forward and take vaccine shots before worrying about the adverse effects. Since the adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccine would be considered as regular ailments by health insurance companies, hence the claim initiation process will also be the same as in the case of conventional illnesses. To get reimbursed from the insurance company, a person just needs to fill up the simple claim filing process.
IRDAI has taken an unprecedented step by mandating some changes in health insurance policies to bring growth and prosperity to the health insurance sector. Many experts and professionals appreciate the idea of reimbursing one’s hospitalization cost in case of adverse COVID-19 vaccination reaction. Everyone should come forward and take both doses of Covid vaccines.
Is the Covid Vaccine Effective after one Dose?
For better immunity and protection, everyone should take both vaccine doses. You may not get adequate protection by taking only one dose.
Apart from covering the hospitalization costs due to vaccine adverse effects, IRDAI has instructed health insurance companies to launch Covid-specific policies like Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak so that people will get adequate coverage against this deadly virus.
Corona Kavach Policy is an indemnity health insurance plan that is particularly designed to reimburse all hospital expenditures related to the COVID-19. If anyone is diagnosed with the COVID-19 infection, then this policy covers pre-and-post hospitalization expenses, domiciliary treatment costs, homecare treatment costs, and AYUSH treatment. The sum insured amount is between Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 5 lakh. On the other hand, the Corona Rakshak policy is a single-premium health insurance plan where you will get 100% of the sum insured in a lump sum if you are tested positive for the COVID-19 and need hospitalization for more than 72 hours. This policy also bears the expenses of consumable items like PPE kits, gloves, masks, etc. The range of sum insured is Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2.5 lakh.
Earlier, people were hesitant about vaccines, and there was a scarcity of vaccines also. Now, vaccines are easily available at both government and private hospitals. India has given more than 127 Crore vaccines, and nearly half of the adult populations are fully vaccinated. The government also motivates and inspires people to take vaccines without worrying about their side effects.
