Delhi’s dilemma
Bangladesh’s request for the extradition of its former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina from India marks a pivotal moment in South Asian diplomacy.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it identified counterfeit versions of India’s primary Covid vaccine, Covishield, BBC reported.
The doses were seized by authorities in India and Africa between July and August, a WHO statement said. It also said the vaccine’s maker, the Serum Institute of India, confirmed that the doses were fake. The WHO warned that fake vaccines “pose a serious risk to global public health” and called for their removal from circulation.
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Covishield is the Indian-made version of AstraZeneca’s jab and is the most widely used vaccine in India with more than 486 million doses administered so far.
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It may be recalled just in the month of June in India, in Kolkata, a fake vaccination racket was bust by the police wherein an impostor was running a fake vaccination camp where instead of Covishield doses, an antibiotic used in the treatment of chest infection was being administered. The Covishield labelled ampules that were recovered, were also sent for forensic tests for confirmation.
Soon after the arrest of the accused, few other similar fake vaccine rackets cases were reported from West Bengal. India has administered more Covishield doses than Covaxin, a health expert said, pointing out that the present warning by WHO poses a serious concern.
” Lakhs of people are getting vaccinated every day in India and if this revelation is true, then it will be a herculean task to find out how many have got such counterfeit doses and moreover, in that case, they need to be given a real vaccine. The Indian government must respond to this” said the official.
Serum had supplied millions of Covishield vaccines to countries in Asia, Africa and South America – as part of deals that were inked with various governments and the global Covax scheme for poorer countries.
India, which is the second worst-affected country in the world, aims to vaccinate all its people by the end of this year. About 13 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated since the beginning of the drive, in January.
…With IANS inputs
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