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Business News/ News / India/  Serum Institute could resume Covishield production as Covid cases rise

Serum Institute could resume Covishield production as Covid cases rise

The Serum Institute of India (SII) has offered two crore doses of the Covishield vaccine to the central government free of cost in December 2022.

India's SII could resume Covishield shot production as Covid cases rise.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) could resume production of the Covishield Covid-19 vaccine as infections rise in the country, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday. Covishield is a version of an AstraZeneca shot.

The world's biggest vaccine maker already has a stock of 6 million doses of Covovax, a version of a Novavax vaccine, the spokesperson added as quoted by Reuters.

Dr Amitav Banerjee - an epidemiologist who leads DY Patil Medical College in Pune has earlier said that Covishield carried a ‘double whammy of risk’. He noted that its use had been discouraged in most European countries due to blood clots.

"It also carries the risk of myocarditis. There is accumulating evidence that this heart condition is associated with the mRNA vaccines. Many would perhaps not know that Covishield carries a DNA gene on an adenovirus which after injection gets converted into mRNA in the body," he said.

He urged people to ‘pause at these red signals’ noting that there were anecdotal reports of sudden deaths across the world as well as high all-cause mortality following Covid-19 vaccination drives in many countries.

Meanwhile, AIIMS professor Dr. Sanjay K Rai also voiced similar sentiments, calling for universal vaccination to be reconsidered.

"Global evidence has demonstrated that natural infection provides better and longer duration of protection than any vaccine alone. In the current scenario, there is no requirement for universal vaccination against Covid-19. This may cause more harm than benefits," he said in a statement.

Malhotra's remarks have also prompted murmurs about 'dangerous' fringe elements' that could mislead the public. Indeed, the BBC reportedly faced flak from many scientists after an interview with the cardiologist was aired. His paper on the topic has also been refuted by many medical experts.

It is pertinent to note here that the Indian government as well as the World Health Organization have cleared Covishield for use.

(With Reuters inputs)

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