India has approved two COVID-19 vaccines, SII’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, for use in the country. Both these vaccines are now being widely used for the mass vaccination drive currently going on in the country. There were a lot of concerns initially when these vaccines were approved. The main concern was about the safety of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, which has not yet completed phase 3 trials. But as the vaccination drive started, the fears and concerns were relegated to the background. This may be due to the fact that though adverse reactions have been reported, no doubt, there are not severe and form a very small percentage of vaccine recipients. But this is not to say that reservations about the Covishield is not there. Chhattisgarh health minister TS Singh Deo has gone on record to express his reservations about Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

Concerns over Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin

In a tweet yesterday, Mr Deo said that the “incomplete third phase trials” of Covaxin and the “absence of expiration date on the vials” are the major concerns of the state regarding this vaccine. He asked the Centre to “halt the supply of Covaxin to Chhattisgarh until these issues are addressed”. Chhattisgarh had also earlier been vocal about its reservations about this COVID-19 vaccine. The tweet also contained Mr Deo’s January 2021 letter to Health Minister Vardhan where he says that rollout of Covishield is being done in the state. In the letter also, he raises concerns over the delivery of Covaxin to the state by the centre.

India’s Health Minister clarifies

Dr Harsh Vardhan gave a detailed explanation in his reply. He says that Chhattisgarh is way behind in its vaccination schedule, which is a cause of concern to the Centre. He also goes on to say that Covaxin is being used in clinical trial mode in the country. This means that people receiving this vaccine will be looked at as phase 3 trial participants and will be monitored as such. Dr Vardhan also reiterated the fact that all vaccines supplied to states are “safe and immunogenic” and should be used expeditiously. “Your concern regarding unavailability of expiry date on Covaxin vial is also completely unfounded and without basis as the same is mentioned on the label of vaccine vials,” Dr Vardhan wrote and also attached a photo of a Covaxin vial with the label.

State falls behind in vaccine schedule

Union minister Vardhan also pointed out that Chhattisgarh has covered only 9.55 per cent of its 2,09,512 frontline workers through the first dose of the vaccine. He exhorted the state to speed things up in view of the fact that both Covishield and Covaxin are available with the state.

Vaccine hesitancy a real problem

Meanwhile, according to reports from the National Expert Committee on Vaccine Administration, 12 states are behind the vaccination schedule and have apparently vaccinated less than 40 per cent of their registered healthcare workers. This is being blamed on people’s reluctance to get the shot. But the latest reports say that this trend is shifting and, very soon, vaccine hesitancy may be a thing of the past.

Source: | This article originally belongs to thehealthsite.com

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