Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor criticised the approval for Covaxin and said it was premature and dangerous.
“The Covaxin has not yet had Phase 3 trials. Approval was premature and could be dangerous. @drharshvardhanshould please clarify. Its use should be avoided till full trials are over. India can start with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the meantime,” Congress leader tweeted.
Tharoor’s remarks come on a day when India’s drugs regulator approved Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country, paving the way for a massive inoculation drive.
Samajwadi Party president and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav also said the COVID-19 vaccination programme is a “sensitive process”, and the government should not to treat it as a “cosmetic” event as it is a matter of lives of people.
