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The Prime Minister did well to warn against rumours about Covid vaccines and their efficacy, during the course of his interaction with chief ministers on vaccinating Indians against Sars-Cov-2.
Dragging Covaxin, the indigenous Covid-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Virology, through the mud does not do public health, the company, the academic and research institutions, or the nation any favour.
Science and the institutions mandated to deploy the relevant science should determine whether or not to use the vaccine. Raising doubts about the vaccine hurts not only indigenous scientific research but also Indian pharmaceutical industry’s global credibility. It also promotes vaccine hesitancy.
There are high corporate and national stakes involved. A vaccine developed and manufactured in India will be much cheaper than those developed in the industrialised countries. This is an opportunity for India to expand its global soft power, enhance its scientific reputation and commercial prospects.
When a non-BJP state government declares that it will not use Covaxin, it is shortchanging India to score political points. Instead, it could write to the regulator asking it to elaborate the scientific basis, complete with data, for its grant of approval for a vaccine still in Phase 3 trials.
Developing a vaccine for a virus responsible for a pandemic is arare opportunity. Undermining Bharat Biotech’s efforts will mean other companies will step in, and other national governments will push vaccines developed by their companies. Similarly, those casting doubt on the clinical trials must consider the information in its entirety before pushing out a narrative.
Courtesy - The Economic Times.
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