New Delhi: Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday expressed apprehensions over the Drugs Controller General of India nod for the emergency use of Bharat Biotech’s indigenously manufactured COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’.
In a tweet, Mr Tharoor said that the Covaxin has not completed its phase 3 trials. “Approval was premature and could be dangerous. Dr Harsh Vardhan should please clarify”, the parliamentarian averred.
Notably, the drug regulator body’s Subject Expert Committee had on January 1 not recommended the emergency use authorization of Covaxin, however, today it finally gave its nod for both Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Serum Institute of India’s Covishield.
He further said that the use of Covaxin should be avoided till trials are completely over. “India can start with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the meantime”, he added.
Meanwhile, the DGCI, in a statement today said that Covaxin is developed on Vero cell platform, which has well established track record of safety and efficacy in the country and globally.
