Serum has described the volunteer’s accusations as “malicious and ill-conceived” (Representative)
New Delhi:
A Chennai volunteer whose allegations of adverse effects during the Oxford vaccine trials led to a Rs 100 million lawsuit by the Serum Institute of India (SII), lost an American project and found it difficult to even make simple payments in line, his wife said. .
The Serum Institute, led by Adar Poonawalla, said in a statement today that the Oxford coronavirus vaccine is “safe and immunogenic.” He also defended his legal notice to the volunteer, saying he wanted to “safeguard the reputation of the company that is being unfairly defamed.”
The volunteer’s wife denied the allegation that there was any motive, financial or otherwise, in her legal notice to the vaccine manufacturer in November. The 40-year-old man volunteered for the third phase of the Covid vaccine trial and was given a dose on October 1. The family has claimed 5 million rupees as compensation.
“Our main demand was that people find out about this. This vaccine is being called the option for India. We cannot remain silent. We could have sold our silence, we could have sent a warning and won something … But our hearts wouldn’t let us do that, “the woman told NDTV by phone from Chennai.
She described her husband, a marketer, as a creative and informed person.
“His ability to write, to present things creatively were his plus points. Now he can’t do his job,” he said, adding that although he was better, he was still struggling to perform simple tasks.
“Even after two weeks, simple things like online payments … he asks me to do. He never does that. He got a good project during the pandemic; it was an American project that started on October 1. Apparently he has lost that.” . . Due to its condition, clients have moved. They wanted their work done quickly. “
The couple’s concern is that the trials were allowed to continue even after the volunteer complained.
“Our question was, why didn’t they stop the trial when such an adverse reaction was seen? At least until they were 100 percent sure? How could they re-administer the vaccine to the volunteers before informing them,” he said .
Serum has called the volunteer’s accusations “malicious and ill-conceived.”
“The COVISHIELD vaccine is safe and immunogenic. The incident with the Chennai volunteer, although very unfortunate, was not induced in any way by the vaccine and the Serum Institute of India is sympathetic to the medical condition of the volunteer,” said Serum Institute in its release.
The company said the Principal Investigator of the Safety and Data Monitoring Board and the Ethics Committee had “independently clarified it and considered it as an issue unrelated to the vaccine trial.”
“We want to assure everyone that the vaccine will not be released for mass use unless it is proven to be immunogenic and safe. Given the complexities and misnomer names surrounding vaccination and immunization, the legal notice was sent to safeguard the reputation of the company that is being unfairly defamed, “he said.
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