Three organisations of survivors of 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy on Sunday wrote to the prime minister and Union health minister asking them to stop the ongoing trial of Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine Covaxin in the Madhya Pradesh capital. The letter came amid controversy over the death of a 45-year old volunteer in Bhopal, allegedly during the clinical trial of the vaccine. The deceased volunteer was a survivor of the Union Carbide gas leak tragedy.
The letter, which has been accessed by Scroll.in, also demanded compensation for damages caused during the trial and punishment for those responsible for the alleged flouting of norms.
“At least 700 of the 1,700 people on who this vaccine, with unknown efficacy, is being tested, are people poisoned by Union Carbide,” Rashida Bee, President of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, one of the four organisations said.
The letter asserts that proper guidelines were not adhered to while receiving consent from…