'Indians are not guinea pigs': Manish Tewari targets govt over Covid-19 vaccine
Manish Tewari said that the government should not roll out Covaxin till its efficacy and reliability is completely established
A day after the government said that a recipient cannot choose the Covid-19 vaccine that one wants him or her to be administered, Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday again raised doubts over the efficacy of the indigenously developed Covaxin, which is in the third phase of trials and has been cleared for restricted emergency use by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
“Covaxin was licensed by the government for emergency use. Now the government is saying that the recipient won't be able to pick and choose the vaccine which he's administered to. When phase 3 trials of Covaxin are not complete, it raises various concerns on its efficacy,” Tewari told news agency ANI.
He said that the government should not roll out Covaxin, developed by Hyderabad-based pharma firm Bharat Biotech, till its efficacy and reliability is completely established and phase 3 trials are over. “It (the government) should act in a manner whereby there's complete confidence in people. You can't use rollout as phase 3 trial, Indians are not guinea pigs,” the Congress MP was quoted as saying by ANI.
His remarks come as the health ministry on Tuesday hinted that for now, the Covid vaccine recipients will not have the option to choose from the two vaccines recently approved for restricted emergency use in India. "At many places in the world, more than one vaccine is being administered, but presently, in no country, vaccine recipients have the option of choosing the shots," Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan had told reporters.
{{/usCountry}}His remarks come as the health ministry on Tuesday hinted that for now, the Covid vaccine recipients will not have the option to choose from the two vaccines recently approved for restricted emergency use in India. "At many places in the world, more than one vaccine is being administered, but presently, in no country, vaccine recipients have the option of choosing the shots," Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan had told reporters.
{{/usCountry}}Tewari had earlier too questioned the reliability of the vaccine and accused the government of misusing the situation. “The BJP government has politically misused the Covid-19 pandemic in its entirety. The controversy over the vaccine is its latest manifestation. Who is going to get himself vaccinated with a vaccine that has question marks on its reliability,” he had said without naming Covaxin.
{{/usCountry}}Tewari had earlier too questioned the reliability of the vaccine and accused the government of misusing the situation. “The BJP government has politically misused the Covid-19 pandemic in its entirety. The controversy over the vaccine is its latest manifestation. Who is going to get himself vaccinated with a vaccine that has question marks on its reliability,” he had said without naming Covaxin.
{{/usCountry}}Two vaccines - Oxford University's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin - have been approved for the viral disease for restricted emergency use. The shipment of both the vaccines, which will be first given to nearly 30 million health and frontline workers, has begun across cities as the nation gets in motion to kickstart the vaccination drive on January 16.
