How Pfizer tried to bully India to buy its 'ineffective' Covid vaccine

The Pfizer chief time and again ducked these questions, only to say "Thank you very much" and "Have a nice day".

New Delhi, Jan 20: Albert Bourla, Chief Executive Officer of US-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, was posed some serious questions about the efficacy of its Covid vaccine, but he evaded the questions, and a video of it has gone viral over the internet.

The viral video shows, a Rebel News journalist asking a tough questions to the Pfizer CEO. In one of the question the reporter asked, "Mr Bourla, can I ask you - when did you know the vaccines did not stop transmission? How long did you know that before saying it publicly?"

The Pfizer chief time and again ducked these questions, only to say "Thank you very much" and "Have a nice day".

The reporter then posed a follow-up question about why Pfizer kept a secret about vaccines not stopping transmission (of Covid).

"You said it was 100% effective, then 90%, then 80%, then 70%, but we now know that the vaccines do not stop transmission. Why do you keep that secret?" Albert Bourla again ducked the question and told the journalist to have a nice day.

The second journalist Avi Yemini, asked Bourla whether it was time to apologise to the world and to give refunds to the countries that bought vaccines that did not yield results.

"Is it time to apologise to the world, sir? To give refunds to the countries that borrowed their money into a vaccine that doesn't work. An ineffective vaccine. Are you not ashamed of what you've done in the last couple of years?" Yemini asked only to get no response from Bourla.

Reacting to the video, Minister for state for information and technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, tweeted, "Just to remind all Indians, that Pfizer tried to bully Govt of India into accepting conditions of indemnity."

Chandrashekar further attacked Congress' Rahul Gandhi, P Chidamabaram and Jairam Ramesh, claiming that the trio kept pushing the case for administering foreign vaccines in India.

How Pfizer tried bully India's vaccine

Going back to the initial days of the vaccination drive, the US-based pharma firm Pfizer sought an indemnity bond that will exempt it from legal claims in case there are any adverse effects from the vaccine.

India's drug regulator wanted Pfizer to conduct local trials to ensure the safety of the vaccine for official authorization.

But the company failed to present evidence that its vaccine was safe for the Indian population, according to a Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) statement.

After detailed deliberation, the committee did not recommend for grant of permission for emergency use in the country at this stage.

Pfizer under fire over its ineffective vaccine, claimed more than 80 percent efficacy for its vaccine, just to boost sales. But later it was found that Pfizer vaccine had only 12 percent efficacy and did not prevent transmission.

Meanwhile, Indian government carried out massive vaccination on a war-footing, despite scepticism, criticism and lack of support from the Opposition parties.

India adopted trial and test method in its efforts to combat Covid, and it got its own indigenous vaccines and added two vaccines to its credit.

These vaccines proved the best in the world and India lend a helping hand several countries as well in their fight against the pandemic.

With this, India has shown the world that it can fight against a global pandemic with its own resources.