Religiously sensitive cow hits India's vaccine drive .......and the timing....is this linked to polls in 'Hindutva-oriented' Gujarat and UP?

The controversy began after a RTI question revealed that the serum from calves is used in producing vaccines

UCAN Report

India's vaccination drive against the fast-spreading Covid-19 pandemic has plunged into controversy after allegations that a vaccine was made using serum from cows, the holy animal of millions of Hindus.

The controversy began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government disclosed that Covaxin developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech used "newborn calf serum.”

The principal opposition Congress party said the vaccine was made after "slaughtering" calves and it was "heinous" that it happened in a country of 900 million Hindus. 

"Covaxin consists of newborn calf serum ... which is a portion of clotted blood obtained from ... young cow calves after slaughtering them. This is heinous. This information should have been made public before," tweeted Gaurav Pandhi, national coordinator of social media for the Congress party. 

The cow is a revered animal for most of India’s Hindus, who make up some 90 percent of the country's 1.2 billion people. Cow slaughter is banned in most Indian states. Of India’s 29 states, 24 have regulations prohibiting either the slaughter or sale of cows.

The central government disclosed the information after details of the serum were sought through the Right to Information Act, a law that empowers citizens to seek information about the state’s actions.

The federal Health Ministry responded to the controversy by saying the Congress party had twisted facts.

"Facts have been twisted and misrepresented in these posts [on social media]. Newborn calf serum is used only for the preparation/growth of vero cells. Different kinds of bovine and other animal serum are standard enrichment ingredients used globally for vero cell growth,” said a ministry statement.

"Vero cells are used to establish cell lines that help in the production of vaccines. This technique has been used for decades in polio, rabies and influenza vaccines.” 
Some observers say the timing of the controversy aims to hit Modi’s pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"The timing is important. State elections are due next year in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat,” two BJP strongholds, said Tushar Bhadra, a political observer who lives in Varanasi, Modi's parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

“The issue could result in thousands hesitating to take the vaccine. This could suit the Congress party politically” as it could project the BJP supporting the slaughter of calves, said Bhadra.

India's vaccination drive has already been marred by political controversies.
In January, when formal clearance was given for the Covaxin and Covishield (AstraZeneca) vaccines, many feared they had not undergone adequate tests and trials.

Vocal Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said: "Approval [for Covaxin] was premature and could be dangerous." 

Putting the controversies to rest, Modi on March 1, 2021 took his first shot of Covaxin.

India has so far given more than 260 million doses of three approved vaccines — Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V from Russia.

A BJP leader on condition of anonymity told UCA News that Congress has deliberate political plans ahead of two important state elections.

The Congress party pursues pro-Muslim politics but experiments with soft-Hindutva politics to hoodwink Hindu voters, he said.

The BJP accuses Congress of appeasing India’s 200 million Muslims with its policies and statements but of speaking for the Hindu majority on sensitive issues.

A country where even a Bus is named 'Secular'  

Is this calf-serum row triggered by Congress and linked to polls in 'Hindutva-oriented' Gujarat and UP?

The Congress party lost power to Hindutva champion Modi-led BJP in 2014 in the centre and is out of power in both Hindutva-stronghold 'communally sensitive' states of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat for three decades now. 

Three Congress presidents 

"Is it a coincidence that Congress has been relentlessly targeting Bharat Biotech's indigenous Covaxin, first they questioned drug efficacy when it was given emergency use approval and now spreading fake news about presence of cow serum in the vaccine? Question is at whose behest?" - Amit Malviya, BJP 

Animals are not killed to derive blood serum for covaxin. Either the blood is taken from alive calf or (usually the case) imported from slaughter houses from outside of India. Moreover, no amount of calf/cow is actually in the vaccine, it is only needed to produce it
Dr Sumaiya Shaikh

"In an RTI response, the Modi Govt has admitted that COVAXIN consists Newborn Calf Serum .....which is a portion of clotted blood obtained from less than 20 days young cow-calves, after slaughtering them. 
THIS IS HEINOUS! This information should have been made public before." -

 Gaurav Pandhi, National Coordinator, Social Media, Congress party 

Union Health Ministry

There have been some social media posts regarding composition of the COVAXIN vaccine where it has been suggested that COVAXIN vaccine contains the newborn calf serum. 

Facts have been twisted and misrepresented in these posts.

Newborn Calf Serum is used only for preparation/ growth of vero cells. Different kinds of bovine and other animal serum are standard enrichment ingredient used globally for vero cell growth. Vero cells are used to establish cell lines which help in production of vaccines.  This technique has been used for decades in Polio, Rabies, and Influenza vaccines.

These vero cells, after the growth, are washed with water, with chemicals (also technically known as buffer), many times to make it free from the newborn calf serum. Thereafter, these vero cells are infected with corona virus for viral growth.
The vero cells are completely destroyed in the process of viral growth. Thereafter this grown virus is also killed (inactivated) and purified. 

This killed virus is then used to make the final vaccine, and in the final vaccine formulation no calf serum is used.

Hence, the final vaccine (COVAXIN) does not contain newborn calf serum at all and the calf serum is not an ingredient of the final vaccine product.