No pressure to clear Covaxin: Govt

New Delhi, November 17

The Health Ministry on Thursday dismissed media reports that claimed the hastening of regulatory approvals for Covaxin under political pressure.

“These reports are misleading and fallacious,” a ministry statement said. It said scientific approach and prescribed norms were adhered to while approving Covid vaccines for emergency use authorisation.

“There have been media reports claiming that Bharat Biotech, manufacturer of the indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, “had to skip certain processes” and “speed” up clinical trials due to political pressure. The reports further claim that there were several irregularities in the three phases of the clinical trials conducted for the vaccine. These media reports are completely misleading, fallacious and ill-informed,” the ministry said.

It said the government and the national regulator followed a scientific approach and prescribed norms in approving vaccines for emergency use authorisation. “The subject expert committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation met on January 1 and 2, 2021, and after due deliberations made recommendations in respect of proposal for restricted emergency approval of the vaccine,” the ministry said.