Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Tuesday urged people to refrain from unwarranted criticism of scientists that discredits their hard work. His appeal followed Bharat Biotech Director Krishna Ella’s response to criticism that the Hyderabad-based vaccine-maker lacked efficacy data on Covaxin—the COVID-19 vaccine.
In a series of tweets, Sudhakar came out in defence of Bharat Biotech and said that Covaxin's phase-3 clinical trial involves 24,000 volunteers and its data will be available soon. "I humbly appeal to everyone, not as a Health Minister but as a fellow medical professional, to refrain from unwarranted criticism which discredits the hard work of our scientists," he said.
The approval of @BharatBiotech's Covid-19 vaccine 'Covaxin' marks a significant milestone in India's indigenous novel vaccinology. India being one of the largest exporter of vaccines, the world is looking up to us in the common fight against this global pandemic. (1/4)
— Dr Sudhakar K (@mla_sudhakar) January 5, 2021
Covaxin's phase-3 clinical trial involves 24,000 volunteers & it's data will be available soon. I humbly appeal to everyone, not as a Health Minister but as a fellow medical professional, to refrain from unwarranted criticism which discredits the hard work of our scientists.(4/4)
— Dr Sudhakar K (@mla_sudhakar) January 5, 2021
He added that the approval of Bharat Biotech's vaccine marks a significant milestone in India's indigenous novel vaccinology. He added that as the largest exporter of vaccines, the world is looking up to India in the global fight against the pandemic.
He contended that Bharat Biotech is a globally reputed company with experience of developing 16 vaccines, including for influenza, Rotavirus, Japanese Encephalitis, Rabies, Chikungunya, Zika and world's first tetanus-toxoid conjugated vaccine for Typhoid.
"Hailing from a humble background, Bharat Biotech's founder Krishna Ella is a passionate professional with the credibility of delivering over four billion vaccine doses to underprivileged people in more than 150 developing countries through UNICEF and other channels," he said.
Heaping praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's inspiring leadership, the Minister said that India is at the forefront of scientific innovation to combat COVID-19 pandemic. "In line with our philosophy of 'Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu' and 'Vasudaiva Kutumbakam' India will play a significant role in healing humanity," he tweeted.
Hitting out at the critics, Ella had said on Monday that "I think people should have the patience to read on the Internet and look at what our articles are."