Reports misleading, Covaxin nod not a rush job, says govt

The development of Covaxin wasn’t a rush job under political pressure, the Union government asserted Thursday, jumping to the defence of the indigenous Covid-19 vaccine following reports in the US that it was rolled out “despite discrepancies” and its maker Bharat Biotech was coerced.

- Swati Bharadwaj

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad-based pharma company clarified Wednesday that it never was under any political pressure and no shortcuts were used either—the two core points of reports by US-based health news website STAT. The reports alleged that the Indian regulator “endorsed the vaccine, despite discrepancies in a number of clinical trial participants”.