-
Sign up
Receive new posts by email. Unsubscribe whenever.
Tag Archives: Covaxin
Enfeebling the Indian space programme
There’s no denying that there currently prevails a public culture in India that equates criticism, even well-reasoned, with pooh-poohing. It’s especially pronounced in certain geographies where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoys majority support as well as vis-à-vis institutions that … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Axiom Space, Axiom-4, Bharatiya Janata Party, Board of Control for Cricket in India, Chandrayaan 2, Covaxin, Department of Space, Election Commission of India, Falcon 9, HUNOR, Indian Space Research Organisation, K Sivan, NASA, political capture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, S Somanath, Shubhanshu Shukla, SpaceX, V Narayanan, VG Somani, Vikram lander
Leave a comment
A tale of two awardees
In many respects Krishna Ella and Elon Musk are poles apart but on some they share a few similarities. Both of them have played along with nationalist elements in their respective national governments in order to further their agendas, if … Continue reading
A tale of two awardees
In many respects Krishna Ella and Elon Musk are poles apart but on some they share a few similarities. Both of them have played along with nationalist elements in their respective national governments in order to further their agendas, if … Continue reading
The BHU Covaxin study and ICMR bait
Earlier this month, a study by a team at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi concluded that fully 1% of Covaxin recipients may suffer severe adverse events. One percent is a large number because the multiplier (x in 1/100 * … Continue reading
Something more foolish than completing phase 3 trials in 1.5 months?
That the Union government and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had entered into a more intimate, but not necessarily more beneficial, relationship became evident in 2019 when then ISRO chairman K. Sivan trotted out a series of dubious claims … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science
Tagged Balram Bhargava, Covaxin, Gaganyaan, human spaceflight, Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, K Sivan
Comments Off on Something more foolish than completing phase 3 trials in 1.5 months?
The biopolitics of Covaxin
In a new investigation, STAT has reported fresh problems with Covaxin’s approval process in India, including the phase 2 trial dropping its placebo arm in favour of one preordained to make Covaxin look good and Bharat Biotech – the maker – … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Op-eds, Science
Tagged Balram Bhargava, Bharat Biotech, biopolitics, CDSCO, clinical trials, Covaxin, Giorgio Agamben, ICMR, Krishna Mohan
Leave a comment
About vaccines for children and Covaxin…
I don’t understand his penchant for late-night announcements, much less one at 10 pm on Christmas night, but Prime Minister Narendra has just said the government will roll out vaccines for young adults aged 15-18 years from January 3, 2022 … Continue reading
The vaccine that was built from scratch
I have no plans to read ICMR chief Balram Bhargava’s new book, Going Viral, about the “inside story” of Covaxin’s making, and am grateful for that reason for Dr Jammi Nagaraj Rao’s quick but seemingly thorough review in The Wire … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Balram Bhargava, Covaxin, Going Viral, Indian Council of Medical Research
Leave a comment
The toxic affair between Covaxin and The Lancet
That Covaxin has been leading a ceaselessly beleaguered life is no mystery – but The Lancet journal may not know that it has been pressed into the questionable service of saving the vaccine’s reputation on at least three occasions. In … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Bharat Biotech, clinical trials, Covaxin, JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, retraction index, scientific publishing, The Lancet
Comments Off on The toxic affair between Covaxin and The Lancet