5 of private lab in Noida detained for ‘unauthorised’ Covid vaccine

Currently, only two Covid-19 vaccines are approved for use in India -- the Covidshield vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, and the Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech.

The Gautam Budh Nagar health department on Tuesday conducted a search at a pathology laboratory in Greater Noida’s Dadri after it received reports that an unauthorised Covid-19 vaccine was being administered to people in that town.

The premises were also sealed after it was ascertained that 18 people were administered the unauthorised vaccine, said the district health department. (Getty Images/ Representative)

Five persons were detained from the path lab, Gopal Pathology Lab, on GT Road, and the premises sealed after it was ascertained that 18 people were administered the unauthorised vaccine, said the district health department. The health department is yet to ascertain whether those who received the unapproved vaccine are fine.

Currently, only two Covid-19 vaccines are approved for use in India -- the Covidshield vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, and the Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech.

Later, the lab management informed the health department that they were conducting the third phase clinical trial of a Covid vaccine, developed by private pharma company, Zydus Cadila Healthcare Limited.

The health department said the vaccine manufacturer had authorised Flores Hospital in Ghaziabad to conduct the clinical trial. “The hospital was supposed to conduct the trial, but it shared the vaccine vials with the Dadri lab. We have seized 275 vials and initiated action against the hospital and the lab,” chief medical officer Deepak Ohri said.

Dr Manoj Kumar, owner of Flores Hospital, said he had permission from the competent authority of the Union government to conduct the clinical trial. “We were supposed to conduct trials on 1,000 people. We signed an agreement with Dadri lab as a satellite centre on Monday to share the work. We had no idea that the local district health department’s permission was needed to conduct the clinical trial,” he said.

A Zydus Cadila spokesperson said the company’s Covid vaccine is at present in the trial stage and people are not being vaccinated. The spokesperson said they would release more details in this matter soon

Dr Sanjeev Kumar, the in-charge of the Community Health Centre, Dadri, said the laboratory was administering a new Covid vaccine to people on Tuesday. “They had placed a banner informing people about the free Covid vaccination drive in collaboration with Nari Raksha Dal. Some locals took a photo of the vaccination drive and that went viral on social media,” he said.

Kumar said when he received the information about the illegal drive, he informed his seniors about the matter. “I was directed to go and verify the matter. The lab management told me that they were conducting a clinical trial of a Covid vaccine, developed by Cadila Healthcare Limited. They had by then administered the vaccine to 18 persons,” he said.

“They showed us some documents having the approval from the Drugs Controller General of India, for the clinical trial, but they had not informed the health department or the district administration about this exercise,” he said.

Dr Ohri said the health department was not informed about this exercise. “The vaccination drive or a clinical trial can’t take place in such a lab. The government has notified certain sites for such clinical trials. They (the lab) had no permission from the health department or the district administration. We have sealed the premises and also arrested five persons from the lab,” he said. Ohri said a police complaint has also been filed against them.

Rajveer Singh Chauhan, SHO Dadri police station, said a case will be registered based on the complaint. “The health department and the police team are questioning the lab employees. The FIR may be registered once the primary investigation is over,” he said.