BHOPAL: Gas victims, during a virtual press conference, called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately stop the ongoing clinical trial of Covaxin in Bhopal. They have written to the Prime Minister and the Union health minister to convey this message. The gas victims have also sought punishment for all responsible parties who were negligent in ensuring the safety, well-being and rights of the trial participants and demanded monetary compensation for the damage caused during the Covaxin trial in Bhopal. The gas victims demanded that the family of the gas victim who died during the Covaxin trial be paid Rs 50 lakh as done in the case of the deceased corona warriors.
‘Vaccine of unknown efficacy’
"At least 700 of the 1,700 people on whom this vaccine, of unknown efficacy, is being tested, are people poisoned by Union Carbide. One gas victim has already died within 10 days of getting the trial shot and many continue to have health complaints of a serious nature. No one has been punished for the deaths of 13 gas victims who died during trials by pharma companies at the Bhopal Memorial Hospital & Research Centre (BMHRC) some 12 years back. The PM should ensure that there is repeat," says Rashida Bee, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh.
‘No records of health problems’
"People whose health is compromised due to Union Carbide’s poisons are being given the Covaxin trial shots without their knowledge or consent. No records are kept of the health problems that the trial’s participants have following the shots and several have been turned away without tending to the adverse effects of the shots. Trial participants who leave, or are excluded, halfway are denied care and are not followed up," remarks Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action.
