Loot Maar Raj! Murderous Too! 'Why is India buying an untested vaccine when a cheaper option with better safety data is available?'

[Sukla Sen]

It's evidently a Loot Maar Raj.

This time, in a, visibly, murderous way!

Neither of the two has completed clinical trials in India. 

But, the Covishield has, to its credit, at least, global data to justify its being granted the REU (Restricted Emergency Use) permission.

So that it can be used for mass vaccination! 

But, the Covaxin has none of that.

It's still carrying out its third-stage clinical trial.

Hence, it has been granted a permission for being used in "trial mode".

Yet, it'll also be used for mass vaccination.

Thus, a huge number will virtually become "trial volunteers" - without mandatory informed consent!

Moreover, both the vaccines are to be administered in two instalments.

As it looks - there's no certainty, one'll, in the second instalment, get the same vaccine administered as in the first!

Not to forget, the two vaccines are of two entirely different types: (i) mRNA (Covishield) and the other (ii) deactivated virus (Covaxin).

And the media keeping just mum!

Pretty much horrifying.

<<The vials have reached the states and India is all set to embark upon its Covid-19 vaccination drive that will first target the country’s 30 million frontline workers. Strikingly, a quarter of those vials are from Bharat Biotech, the Indian manufacturer behind the Covaxin vaccine, which lacks large-scale safety and efficacy data since its phase three clinical trials are incomplete.

Many health policy experts say the government’s decision to procure such a large consignment from Bharat Biotech at this stage is baffling, particularly since Covaxin is priced higher than the other vaccine at India’s disposal: Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield. Manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute, the vaccine’s India-specific trial data are yet to be fully examined, but it has shown favourable results in large scale trials in Brazil and the United Kingdom.>>

(Excerpted from: <https://scroll.in/article/984048/why-is-india-buying-an-untested-vaccine-when-a-cheaper-option-with-better-safety-data-is-available>.)

[Sukla Sen]

Sorry!

A correction.

The two vaccines are of two different types.

However, the Covishield doesn't belong to the mRNA category.

The end portion of the note, preceding the quoted excerpt, is to be read as:

Moreover, both the vaccines are to be administered in two instalments.

As it looks - there's no certainty, one'll, in the second instalment, get the same vaccine administered as in the first!

Not to forget, the two vaccines are of two different types: <https://www.livemint.com/science/health/covishield-and-covaxin-against-covid-19-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-vaccines-11609737696608.html>.

And the media keeping just mum!

Pretty much horrifying.

Sukla