Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar on Tuesday came to the defence of Bharat Biotech, disapproving of any criticism of Covaxin, the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Hyderabad-based company.
"Bharat Biotech is a reputed company which has the credibility and experience of developing 16 vaccines including for influenza H1N1, rotavirus, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, chikungunya, zika and the world's first tetanus-toxoid conjugated vaccine for typhoid," the minister said in a series of tweets.
The company's founder Krishna Ella came from a humble background and is a passionate professional with the credibility of delivering over four billion vaccine doses to underprivileged people in more than 150 developing countries through UNICEF and other channels, Sudhakar said.
Covaxin's phase-3 clinical trial involves 24,000 volunteers and its data will be available soon, he said. "I humbly appeal to everyone, not as Health Minister but as a fellow medical professional, to refrain from unwarranted criticism which discredits the hard work of our scientists," he said.
The approval of Covaxin, he said, marked a significant milestone in indigenous novel vaccinology in India. Being one of the largest exporters of vaccines, the world is looking up to us in the common fight against this global pandemic.
Serum Institute of India chief executive Adar Poonawala had said in a tv interview on Sunday that there were only three vaccines with proven efficacy - Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca and the rest were just safe like water.
Mutant Covid-19 variant found in 11 people
Sudhakar said 37 people out of 75 UK returnees have tested positive for Covid-19. Only 11 among them are confirmed for new mutant virus.
The health authorities are tracking the primary contacts of these persons, he said.
"Bharat Biotech is a reputed company which has the credibility and experience of developing 16 vaccines including for influenza H1N1, rotavirus, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, chikungunya, zika and the world's first tetanus-toxoid conjugated vaccine for typhoid," the minister said in a series of tweets.
The company's founder Krishna Ella came from a humble background and is a passionate professional with the credibility of delivering over four billion vaccine doses to underprivileged people in more than 150 developing countries through UNICEF and other channels, Sudhakar said.
Covaxin's phase-3 clinical trial involves 24,000 volunteers and its data will be available soon, he said. "I humbly appeal to everyone, not as Health Minister but as a fellow medical professional, to refrain from unwarranted criticism which discredits the hard work of our scientists," he said.
The approval of Covaxin, he said, marked a significant milestone in indigenous novel vaccinology in India. Being one of the largest exporters of vaccines, the world is looking up to us in the common fight against this global pandemic.
Serum Institute of India chief executive Adar Poonawala had said in a tv interview on Sunday that there were only three vaccines with proven efficacy - Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca and the rest were just safe like water.
Mutant Covid-19 variant found in 11 people
Sudhakar said 37 people out of 75 UK returnees have tested positive for Covid-19. Only 11 among them are confirmed for new mutant virus.
The health authorities are tracking the primary contacts of these persons, he said.
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