At meeting with PM, Mamata asks about efficacy of COVID vaccines

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Monday asked about the efficacy of the twoCOVID-19 vaccines which the Centre has decided to use duringthe nationwide inoculation drive and enquired why states werenot given any option to choose between the two.

During a virtual meeting between Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and chief ministers of various states on thevaccination process starting January 16, Banerjee enquiredwhether or not the states have to purchase the vaccines forpeople other than those in the priority category such ashealth and other frontline workers.

According to an official statement, she also asked if''adequate scientific confirmation was available in support ofboth the vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) that are now beingoffered by the government of India''.

Banerjee said that ''states have been left with nooption to choose or procure between the two vaccines and theGovernment of India has made a specific decision in favour ofboth the vaccines''.

She said that adequate scientific opinions should beobtained before confirming the efficacy of both the vaccinesand sought a clarification on whether there was any sideeffect of the vaccines.

Later, she was assured by Niti Aayog member Prof (Dr)Vinod K Paul that both the vaccines are ''completely safe basedon the scientific evidence'' and there is no report of seriousside effects.

The chief minister also sought ''frontline worker''status for transport workers and said that the authoritiesshould provide them with the COVID-19 vaccine.

At the meeting, she assured the prime minister thatthe state government is fully prepared for the vaccinationexercise and various committees have been formed to handle theprocess, the statement said.

She also informed Modi that the state has preparedadequate storage capacity for the storage of the vaccine, andall 941 cold chain points have been thoroughly inspected.

The chief minister said that the state has identified44,000 vaccinators and more than 4,000 vaccination sitesacross West Bengal for the first phase of the exercise.

At least 5.8 lakh government and private healthcareworkers have been enrolled for the first phase and all thedata have been uploaded on Co-WIN portal, an online platformfor monitoring COVID-19 vaccine delivery, she said.