Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, India emerged as the saviour of the world first by supplying Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to countries around the world and then by coming up with a low-cost traditional vaccine, developed by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Bharat Biotech played a very important role in saving the world with its low-cost vaccines which are being used by countries across Asia and Africa. However, the liberals in India as well as in other countries, have not recognized the contribution of the Indian company. Instead, they are rooting for Pfizer, the American pharmaceutical company.
Pfizer’s vaccine has the highest price in the world, and it is also leading to side effects. But the people like Chetan Bhagat, Rahul Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Bill Gates are signing laurels of Pfizer while the enormous contribution of Bharat Biotech is not catching their eye.
Chetan Bhagat, the person known for writing the worst novels and often ridiculed for making comments on subjects that he does not know anything about, was rooting for the Pfizer vaccine but had not praised the efforts of Bharat Biotech even once. “The Pfizer vaccine, one of the best ones, used in most developed countries, applied for permission in India in Dec-2020. India instead asked them to do more studies here. Pfizer withdrew its application in Feb-21. Imagine lives saved if we allowed the vaccine from December itself,” he tweeted.
The Pfizer vaccine, one of the best ones, used in most developed countries, applied for permission in India in Dec-2020. India instead asked them to do more studies here. Pfizer withdrew its application in Feb-21. Imagine lives saved if we allowed the vaccine from December itself
— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) April 28, 2021
Rahul Gandhi, the person who cannot speak on even politics (in which he is trying to make a career for the last two decades) for more than 10 minutes, suddenly became a vaccine expert and rooted for the import of the Pfizer vaccine.
After failing as a part-time politician, has Rahul Gandhi switched to full time lobbying? First he lobbied for fighter plane companies by trying to derail India’s acquisition programme. Now he is lobbying for pharma companies by asking for arbitrary approvals for foreign vaccines
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) April 9, 2021
Bill Gates, the racist and xenophobe who masquerades as a philanthropist, expressed doubt over India’s capacity to manufacture vaccines and showed his ignorance towards the fact that India is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, and Serum Institute of India has experience of more than 5 decades (more than Gates work experience) in vaccine manufacturing.
The ignorance of the liberal community towards India’s efforts in saving the world from the Coronavirus, and their inability to appreciate the achievement of Bharat Biotech shows that these people are simply believers of “American exceptionalism” and are in cahoots with big pharmaceutical companies.
Pfizer is bullying the South American nations over the payment of vaccine price. It has kept the sovereign assets like reserves of federal banks and military bases as collateral from Brazil and Argentina, respectively.
Global organizations such as WHO have requested pharmaceutical companies to no not limit life-saving vaccines, but this made no impact on Pfizer’s stance. “Pharmaceutical companies shouldn’t be using their power to limit life-saving vaccines in low and middle-income countries. [This] seems to be exactly what they’re doing,” World Health Organization (WHO) Centre on National and Global Health Law director Professor Lawrence Gostin was quoted as saying by the Bureau.
Gostin added, “Some liability protection is warranted, but certainly not for fraud, gross negligence, mismanagement, failure to follow good manufacturing practices. Companies have no right to ask for indemnity for these things.”
The companies like Pfizer, Moderna, and J & J benefitting from the pandemic while Bharat Biotech manufactured efficient vaccine using the traditional method and is selling it at one of the lowest prices in the world, but the people like Chetan Bhagat are trying to downplay its achievement and rooting for Pfizer instead.