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Health minister dispels concerns after Chhattisgarh seeks to halt Covaxin supply
The minister’s remarks came in response to a letter by the Chhattisgarh government who had asked the Centre to halt the supply of the vaccine to the state till its efficacy was proven.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday dispelled concerns over Covaxin, India’s indigenous Covid-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech and Indian Council of Medical Research, saying it was produced after “due evaluation of pre-clinical and clinical trial data” and is “safe and immunogenic” for use.
The minister’s remarks came in response to a letter by the Chhattisgarh government who had asked the Centre to halt the supply of the vaccine to the state till its efficacy was proven. In his letter to Vardhan, Chhattisgarh health minister T S Singh Deo had also expressed concerns over the absence of expiry dates on the packages of the vials.
“... this is to inform you that we have been supplied Covishield vaccine doses, numbering 588000 doses, using which we have initiated the vaccination in our state. It has been brought to my notice that covaxin too is getting delivered to our state shortly. As far as Covaxin vaccine is concerned there is an inhibition/concern among the community in general regarding the use of Covaxin,” the letter to the minister read.
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“This concern arises from the fact that clinical trials of phase 3 is yet to be completed, and which brings forth a sense of hesitation regarding its use. Further, the vial of Covaxin does not display the expiry date. I would therefore request you, to kindly reconsider the decision to supply Covaxin to the state.... and only do so after the results of clinical trial, phase 3, is over and result is made available...,” it added.
Responding to the state government’s claims, Vardhan wrote: “…as per new drugs and clinical trials rules…, and in light of urgent need due to Covid pandemic in the country… the National Regulator has granted permission to manufacture two Covid-19 vaccines based on the prescribed procedure and after due evaluation of pre-clinical and clinical trial data. Only those Covid-19 vaccines that have been granted permission for restricted use in emergency… Covishield and Covaxin are being used for Covid-19 vaccination drive… both these vaccines being supplied to the States/UTs are safe and immunogenic…”
The response letter also denied the Chhattisgarh government’s claims that the package of the vials were without any expiry date. “…as the same is mentioned on the label of vaccine vials… While I note that Chhattisgarh has achieved 69.87% coverage of its health care workers by giving them the first dose of the vaccine, the state has been able to cover only 9.55% of its 2,09,512 frontline workers through the first dose of the vaccine. You would appreciate that this coverage needs to improve significantly since adequate quantity of both the vaccines are available with the state…,” the minister wrote.
Besides Covaxin, Covishield produced by the Serum Institute of India and Oxford-AstraZeneca is also being used in the vaccination drive.
