Covaxin is being used in a clinical trial mode, which means that its receptors are being monitored.
New Delhi:
Union Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan wrote today to Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo, who has made public his concerns about Covaxin from Bharat Biotech. The main concerns of the state are inhibitions regarding the “incomplete trials of the third phase” of the vaccine and the “absence of expiration date on the vials,” Deo tweeted, attaching his letter to the Center on the matter. It had also asked the Center to “stop the supply of COVAXIN to Chhattisgarh until these issues are addressed.”
Chhattisgarh, a state ruled by Congress, had previously expressed reservations about Covaxin.
In his letter, Dr. Harsh Vardhan gave a detailed explanation. He also noted that the state has been very behind in its vaccination schedule, an issue that has been of growing concern to the Center.
▪️The absence of expiration date on the vaccine vials.
I have asked you to stop supplying COVAXIN to Chhattisgarh until these issues are addressed to the satisfaction of our Health Department to avoid wasting the expiration doses of the drug. (2/2)
– TS Singh Deo (@TS_SinghDeo) February 11, 2021
Covaxin, which had not yet completed its third phase of trials before being approved for use by the country’s drug regulator last month, is being used in clinical trial mode, meaning its receptors are being monitored. In Delhi, health workers are being administered at the six hospitals run by the Center.
In his response, Dr. Harshvardhan said that all vaccines supplied to the states are “safe and immunogenic” and must be used quickly.
“Your concern regarding the unavailability of the expiration date on the Covaxin vial is also completely unfounded and unsubstantiated, as the same is mentioned on the label of the vaccine vials,” the minister wrote, attaching a photo of a vial with the label.
The union minister also pointed out that while Chhattisgarh has “achieved 69.87% coverage of its health workers by giving them the first dose of the vaccine, the state has been able to cover only 9.55% of its 2,09,512 front-line workers through first dose of vaccine. “
“I would be grateful if this coverage should improve significantly, since the State has an adequate quantity of both vaccines,” the letter said.
Last week, Dr. VK Paul, chairman of the National Expert Committee on Vaccine Administration, said 12 states have vaccinated less than 40 percent of their registered healthcare workers.
While several public health experts have pointed to vaccine hesitancy – people’s reluctance to go ahead with vaccination – as a key reason for the slow pace. Paul had said that the doubts about the vaccine “are over.”
“It may still be there on an individual level, but it’s largely not there,” he said, adding that the country is heading for 1 crore vaccines soon and that the pace will accelerate further.
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