Covaxin ‘safe and immunogenic’ says Harsh Vardhan after TS Singh Deo flags ‘inhibition’

[ad_1]

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday allayed fears flagged by his Chhattisgarh counterpart TS Singh Deo about Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine. Deo had asked the Union minister to stop the supply of Covaxin to Chhattisgarh.

In the letter to Vardhan, dated January 21, Deo had said that there was an “inhibition among the community” regarding Covaxin, as the vaccine had been given emergency use authoriation before the completion of third phase human trials. Deo further claimed that Covaxin vials did not carry expiry dates on them.

The Chhattisgarh health minister tweeted the letter on Thursday.

▪️The absence of expiration date on the vials of the vaccine.

I have requested him to halt the supply of COVAXIN to Chhattisgarh until these issues are addressed to the satisfaction of our Health Department to avoid the wastage of the early expiration doses of the drug. (2/2)

— TS Singh Deo (@TS_SinghDeo) February 11, 2021

However, Vardhan rejected Deo’s claims and tweeted his letter written in response as well. “In such unprecedented times, you should help address any vaccine hesitancy & do what’s in best interest of people, not further vested interests,” the Union health minister said in his tweet, referring to Deo.

Both #COVAXIN & #COVISHIELD have been granted EUA in India after completing due diligence & following protocols establishing their safety & immunogenicity.

As for your baseless claim of expiry date not being mentioned on COVAXIN vials,the info is available on label of each vial. pic.twitter.com/5ygrCHZzuD

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) February 11, 2021

In his letter, Vardhan said that both Covaxin and Serum Institute’s Covishield vaccines were “safe and immunogenic” and “should be used expeditiously” to “rapidly confer protection to prioritized beneficiaries”.

“Your concern regarding unavailability of expiry date on Covaxin vial is also completely unfounded and without basis as the same is mentioned on the label of vaccine vials,” Vardhan wrote, posting a photo of one of the vials.

He further pointed out that Chhatisgarh has had been able to administer the first dose of vaccine to only 9.55% of its 2,09,512 front line workers. “…You would appreciate that this coverage needs to improve significantly since the adequate quantity of both the vaccines are available with the state,” Vardhan said.

Ample supplies of vaccines have been delivered to Chhattisgarh against which coverage of only 9.55% frontline workers in the State is a matter of grave concern.

Sh @TS_SinghDeo Ji, rather than sensationalising non-issues, kindly focus on improving vaccine coverage in the State.

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) February 11, 2021

Concerns over Covaxin

Developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology in Pune, Covaxin was granted emergency use authorisation in clinical trial mode by the government last month. However, it raised concerns among experts as the Central Drugs and Standards Committee approved it for use before completing the third phase human trials.

Last month, doctors of Delhi’ Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital demanded that they be given Serum Institute’s Covishield vaccine instead of Covaxin as the former has completed its Phase 3 trials. Organisations of survivors of 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy have also demanded to stop the ongoing trial of Bharat Biotech’s vaccine in the Madhya Pradesh capital, following the death of a volunteer, reportedly during the clinical trial of the vaccine.

However, in a study published in The Lancet journal last month, preliminary data of its Phase 1 trials of the vaccine showed that it was well tolerated and induced enhanced immune response with neutralising antibodies among participants.

Source link
[ad_2]

source https://earn8online.com/index.php/202788/covaxin-safe-and-immunogenic-says-harsh-vardhan-after-ts-singh-deo-flags-inhibition/