Controversy over Covaxin: Congress leader said - calf serum is being mixed in covaxin, BJP said - Congress is spreading confusion again

Cow's calf serum is used to make Covaxin. For this, a calf less than 20 days old is killed. This claim has been made by Congress's National Coordinator Gaurav Pandhi on Wednesday. Pandhi shared documents found in response to an RTI. He has claimed that this reply has been given by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) on the RTI of a person named Vikas Patni.

Modi government kept people in deceit

Calf Serum is used for the revival process of Vero cells. It is being used to make covaxin. Pandhi said that the Narendra Modi government has accepted that Bharat Biotech's vaccine contains cow's calf serum. This is very bad. This information should have been communicated to the people earlier.

The claim was also made in the research paper

Earlier in the research paper of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), it was also told that the serum of newborn animal blood is used to make covaxin. It is not being used in a vaccine for the first time. It is an essential part of all biological research.

The research claimed to use Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) with 5% to 10% of newborn calf serum for Covaxin. DMEM contains many essential nutrients, which are necessary for the cell to divide.

BJP termed the allegation as propaganda of Congress

BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra has termed the allegations of Congress as propaganda. India and the world is fighting Covid, but the Congress party is spreading confusion in the vaccine drive. Congress has committed a great sin and has spread confusion about Covaxin. Congress is talking about cow's calf's blood in Covaxin. It is in social media that cow is being slaughtered for this. Regarding this, the Health Ministry has said that Covaxin does not contain serum or blood of a cow-calf.

Sambit Patra asked- When did Sonia Gandhi get the vaccine?

Patra said that Verocell is used in making the vaccine, which in a way acts as a fertilizer. This Verocell wears out over time. Targeting Congress, Patra said that Congress will be known for vaccine wastage and hesitancy. Congress had raised many questions regarding Covaxin. The people of India will not forgive Congress. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi should tell when they took the vaccine dose. Robert Vadra also raised questions about the vaccine. In this tragedy of the world, we should proceed with scientific thinking and not spread confusion.

Cleanliness of the Ministry of Health - Calf serum is not used

The Health Ministry has clarified the Congress leader's allegation. The ministry has issued a statement saying that wrong information about Covaxin is being shared on social media. Facts have been distorted in the post. Newborn calf serum is used only to produce vero cells, which later die on their own. When the vaccine is produced at the last minute, it is not used.

Earlier the serum was taken from the embryo of the cow.

For the vaccine, previously the fetal serum of a pregnant cow was taken. For this, he had to be killed. Blood was then drawn from the fetus and sent to the lab. Here the serum was separated from the blood. After seeing the cruelty of animals in this process, scientists started extracting the serum of newborn calves. Now the serum is extracted from the blood of the calf from 3 to 20 days and it is used.

Horseshoe crab's blue blood is also used

The creature that looks like the hooves of a horse's feet is called a Horseshoe Crab. Found on the shores of America and South Asia for 450 million years, the blood of this creature is used in medicines. Horseshoe crab blood is also being used to develop a vaccine for Covid-19. Their blue blood helps to make sure that the drug does not contain any dangerous bacteria.

The calamities that dinosaurs could not face, the horseshoe crab faced

The horseshoe crab is called a living fossil. Because over 450 million years, the horseshoe crabs have survived to this day after facing the disasters that destroyed even the dinosaurs on the earth. They are also called organisms with ancient immune systems.