Chhattisgarh Health Minister T S Singh Deo said the use of COVID-19 vaccine 'Covaxin' must not be allowed in the state as its third-phase trial data has not been published yet.
The minister said he is not "confident" about asking people to take this vaccine.
Covaxin, indigenously developed by Bharat Biotech, has got approval for emergency use along with Oxford -AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine. "The third phase trial of Covaxin is under process.
The vaccine has been approved for 'emergency use (by the Drug Controller General of India). Its use should be avoided until its complete results are out," Deo told reporters. Asked whether it would be administered to people in Chhattisgarh, Deo said, "In my opinion, it should not be allowed in the state. As of now, I am not confident of asking people to accept this vaccine." The state recently completed a vaccination dry run in its 28 districts.
Recently, a 42-year-old volunteer from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh who took a dose of Covaxin in the clinical trial of the Covid vaccine died, and added to the controversy revolving around the approval of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
According to reports, the man died nearly ten days after he participated in the clinical trial for Covaxin held at a private hospital.
A government official suspects poisoning as the reason behind the volunteer’s death but added that the exact cause of the death will be known after the viscera test.