India’s emergency-use approval for the British-Swedish AstraZeneca vaccine and the country’s locally developed jab, Covaxin, was lacking in transparency and used “vague” wording, several healthcare experts told RT.
The Indian regulator greenlighted the “restricted” emergency use of two inoculations on Sunday: Covaxin, developed by the Hyderabad-based firm Bharat Biotech, and the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured locally by the Serum Institute of India and promoted under the name Covishield. India’s chief drug control officer V.G. Somani insisted both jabs are “110 percent safe” and produced only mild symptoms that are common to all vaccines.
A health watchdog group, the All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), has protested the move, calling on the government to provide a “detailed rationale” for the decision and additional data on the shot’s safety and efficacy.
AIDAN's immediate response to SEC recommendations to grant Restricted Emergency Use approval to vaccine candidates of @SerumInstIndia& @BharatBiotech@ICMRDELHI @CDSCO_INDIA_INF @BIRAC_2012 @NITIAayog @PMOIndia @ProfBhargava @drharshvardhan @GaviSeth @doctorsoumya @SuchitraElla pic.twitter.com/KuGy0CGdF5
— Malini Aisola (@malini_aisola) January 2, 2021
