India prepares for massive COVID-19 vaccination drive Intense concerns
The All India Drug Action Network, a nonprofit health watchdog, said it was shocked to see approval for Covaxin, a vaccine candidate with a lack of peer-reviewed safety and efficacy data. In light of the intense concerns arising from the absence of efficacy data and hence the limited regulatory review of the vaccine candidate, the implications of public rollout of an untested product, and lack of transparency, we urge the DCGI to reconsider the recommendations of the expert committee in granting the approval to Covaxin, it said.
Virologists like Shahid Jameel, director of the Trivedi School of Biosciences at Ashoka University, said he was confused with the terminology used by the DCGI.
Coronavirus: India′s approval of local vaccine draws criticism | Asia| An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW dw.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dw.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Criticism of India's approval of a local COVID-19 vaccine without proof of its efficacy grew on Wednesday after news that a regulatory panel approved the shot just one day after asking the vaccine maker for more evidence it would work.
Updated Jan 03, 2021 | 18:38 IST
Today on IRM, we discuss what are the implications of the new Covid strain on India and how the vaccination programme will roll out in the nation of 1.3 billion people. How will Covid-19 strain can impact India s vaccination drive? | Photo Credit: Thinkstock
Even as India granted emergency approval to two indigenously developed vaccines Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN and Oxford Institute’s Covidshield, there are concerns around the new strain of Covid-19.
As many as 40 cases of the new virus variant have been detected in India despite a ban on flights from UK where the mutated strain was first detected.