Some Congress leaders have raised serious concern over the grant of approval to Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine for restricted use, saying it is “premature” and can prove dangerous. However, there were different voices within the party as its chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala lauded scientists and researchers of Bharat Biotech for the indigenous vaccine.
Leaders like Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor asked the health minister to explain why mandatory protocols and verification of data “had been dispensed with”, prompting a sharp retort from Union Minister Hardeep Puri, who said the Congress leaders were behaving “true to their form” and were on a “quest for permanent political marginalisation”.
Premature approval
Sharma, who heads the Parliamentary panel on Home Affairs which dealt with the issue at length, said the matter of granting authorisation for vaccine use needs to be taken up carefully as no country has dispensed with the mandatory Phase…