WHO identifies counterfeit versions of Covishield in India
Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Aug, 2021 08:25 PM
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it has identified counterfeit versions of India's primary Covid vaccine, Covishield, BBC reported.
The doses were seized by authorities in India and Africa between July and August, a WHO statement said.
It also said the vaccine's maker, the Serum Institute of India, confirmed that the doses were fake.
The WHO warned that fake vaccines "pose a serious risk to global public health".
It called for their removal from circulation.
Covishield is the Indian-made version of AstraZeneca's jab and is the most widely used vaccine in India with more than 486 million doses administered so far.
Serum had supplied millions of Covishield vaccines to countries in Asia, Africa and South America - as part of deals that were inked with various governments and the global Covax scheme for poorer countries.
India, which is the second worst-affected country in the world, aims to vaccinate all its people by the end of this year.
About 13 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated since the beginning of the drive in January.
He said that the "endgame" in fighting the pandemic is vaccinating everyone. At the same time, he said that all of India should "shut down", as some states have done.
There is desparate struggle for oxygen and there is a major shortage of hospital beds. Crematoriums and morgues are packed and can't keep up with the constant flow of corpses coming in.
Social media is flooded with desparate pleas from people for oxygen for their loved ones while others have no option but to circle hospitals in the capital Delhi while begging for a bed.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management committee & National Spokesman of the Akali Dal shared a celebratory tweet on Sidhu's release along with pictures and video on Instagram.
The situation has gotten so dire that not only are Indian doctors begging for oxygen but the hospitals are filling up with COVID19 positive patients so fast that people have been dying on the pavement outside a well known hospital in the capital Delhi.
