In Modi's India, political row erupts over home-grown coronavirus vaccine
In a country where everything from the food you eat to the clothes you wear can be political, India's Covid-19 vaccine was always going to spark controversy.
So it was on Sunday, when the drug regulator announced the approval of two vaccines for emergency use. One was Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield, while the other was Covaxin from local pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech.
The knives were out for Covaxin just hours after the announcement, when it emerged that the home-grown vaccine was granted restricted approval even though final-stage, or phase-three, human trials had not been completed. Health experts have widely criticised the move as premature, pointing out that there is no publicly available data on its efficacy.
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The All India Drug Network, a health watchdog, said in a statement that it was "shocked to learn of the recommendation" without phase-three efficacy data or proof that it worked against mutant strains. "Anybody would tell you that this is bad vaccine development science," co-convenor Malini Aisola said.
Krishna Ella, the chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech, on Monday defended Covaxin and said the firm was "confident" over its use. He said the company should finish final-phase recruitment within "two or three days" and that Covaxin would feature in two peer reviews in international health journals on January 10. A full readout for the vaccine's phase-three efficacy data should come between March and October, according to a slide show he presented.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the Serum Institute of India in November last year to review the progress and distribution process of its Covid-19 vaccine. Photo: EPA alt=Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the Serum Institute of India in November last year to review the progress and distribution process of its Covid-19 vaccine. Photo: EPA
Bharat Biotech had already produced about 20 million doses, Ella said, which would be increased to about 150 million before July or August. The firm had previously said Covaxin - which uses a dead version of the virus - has efficacy rates of at least 60 per cent.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the approval of Covaxin and Covishield as a "decisive turning point", and that it showed the "eagerness of our scientific community to fulfil the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat", his policy of a self-reliant India.
This reference set off alarm bells in the opposition Congress party, with MP Sashi Tharoor condemning the approval as "premature" and "dangerous". Samajwadi party president Akhilesh Yadav called it a "BJP vaccine", referring to Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, and said that as such it could not be trusted.
Trying to strike a sane note, India's Drugs Controller General, V.G. Somani, has said Covaxin was safe and provided a good immune response. He said the vaccine, which was partly funded by the government, was given an emergency green light so the country had more options in case mutant strains emerged.
India is looking to vaccinate 300 million people by July, and had 10.3 million confirmed infections as of Tuesday, the second most globally after the United States.
BJP leaders, who had assumed the approval of Covaxin would be warmly received, seemed taken aback at the attacks - but hit back, accusing the Congress party of ridiculing Indian achievements.
"Time and again we have seen whenever India achieves something commendable, that will further public good, Congress comes up with wild theories to oppose and ridicule the accomplishments," said BJP President J.P. Nadda.
Ella from Bharat Biotech had a similar reaction on Monday, saying the controversy showed that vaccine development in the country was "getting political".
More encouraging were the results of Saturday's nationwide drill to see if India was prepared to embark upon its mammoth vaccination exercise, which saw teams in 125 districts across the country check to see there were sufficient fridges and syringes, stable electricity, and space for social distancing in vaccination centres.
The dry run went smoothly, but some glitches were identified - the internet was too slow to upload the data in some centres, while another worry was the delay that could arise if staff suddenly had to deal with someone who suffered serious side effects.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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