Covid-19 vaccine row: Confusion on PIB article written by Science Ministry official

A popular science article on Covid-19 vaccine research by a government official that appeared in a government publication created much confusion on Sunday with a section of the media and twitter users declaring it as an official counter to the ICMR’s controversial target of public rolling out of the first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine by August 15.

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In the article that appeared first in India Science Wire – published by Vigyan Prasar under the Department of Science and Technology – DST official T V Venkateswaran wrote that with the DCGI granting the permission for Phase-I and II trials for the indigenous Covid-19 vaccine (Covaxin), it would take 15-18 months before licenses are issued for commercial production of the vaccine. This is based on the presumption that all the trials proceeded smoothly with positive results.

When the same article was reproduced by the Press Information Bureau with some editing, it initially said that two home-grown vaccines – Covaxin by Bharat Biotech and ZyCov-D Vaccine by Zydus Cadila – are unlikely to be ready for mass use by 2021 (albeit the English used in the original PIB article was wrong).

This led to a series of posting and reports in social and online media adding fuel to the already simmering ICMR vaccine trial row even though the PIB dropped the article within minutes and uploaded a revised version with no reference to the year.

A spokesperson from the Science Ministry clarified to DH that the article was not an official statement of the ministry on the Covid-19 vaccine controversy.

“The nod given by the Drug Controller General of India for the conduct of the human trial for the vaccines, marks the beginning of the end,” says the revised article uploaded by the PIB.