Covid vaccine won't be released unless proven safe, assures Serum Institute

SII says after DSMB and ethics committee cleared they continued with the trials; sympathetic with the condition of the subject

In the midst of a controversy surrounding a 40-year-old Chennai subject in the clinical trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine falling seriously ill and demanding Rs 5 crore in damages from Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), the firm on Tuesday assured that its vaccine candidate Covishield would not be released for mass use unless proven ‘immunogenic and safe’. 

Addressing the concerns related to the serious adverse event reported by a volunteer in Chennai, SII said: “The incident with the Chennai volunteer, though highly unfortunate, was in no way induced by the vaccine, and SII is sympathetic with the volunteer's medical condition.” 

Meanwhile,