'People shouldn't be made lab rats' says Jharkhand Health Minister on COVID-19 vaccines

As the Centre on Saturday made an announcement of nationwide vaccination to begin from January 16, Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta has given a word of caution on Sunday, stating that the Central Government should adjudge the authenticity, relevance and utility of the vaccines before beginning the vaccination.

He further said, "people of this country shouldn't be made lab rats".

The Jharkhand health minister said that his government wouldn't bring in political differences and will stand with the Centre as far as the public and national welfare is concerned.

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Politics over vaccines

The politics over the Coronavirus vaccines continues to intensify as Chhattisgarh Health Minister T S Singh Deo on Saturday said the use of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin must not be allowed in the state while citing that the vaccine is still in phase 3 trials. The Chhattisgarh minister said that he is "not confident of asking people to accept the vaccine".

He opined that the Centre has "guessed the safety of the vaccine from phase 1 and 2 trials". Therefore the DCGI has approved the vaccine for 'restricted emergency use', he added.

Politicising the vaccines, Samajwadi Party Chief and former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had called it a BJP vaccine and refused to get himself inoculated. Thereafter the party member Ashutosh Sinha came forward with an even more bizarre claim saying that vaccines can "make someone impotent".

Moreover, Congress leaders such as Jairam Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor also raised apprehension on the safety of the vaccine while raising questions as to why Covaxin has been approved while Phase-3 trials are still underway with the government modifying 'internationally accepted protocols'.

In response, the AIIMS director Randeep Guleria clarified that Covaxin has been approved as a backup in case of a possible surge in Coronavirus due to the UK and the South African variant of the virus.

Also, responding to the harsh criticisms and politicisation, Bharat Biotech CMD Dr Krishna Ella gave assurance about the safety of COVAXIN. In a virtual address, Ella explained in detail the process of the clinical trials and the data available in the public domain regarding COVAXIN. Comparing COVAXIN's publications to the other vaccines developed by Moderna, Pfizer, and other vaccine developers, Dr Ella said that Covaxin was not inferior in any manner.

Moreover, Ecuador Ambassador to India Hector Cueva Jacome participated in the trials of Covaxin on Friday, while stating that he consulted researchers and experts from the US and Ecuador before taking the first shot of the vaccine. The researchers said Covaxin is a safe and convenient vaccine, Jacome added.

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