Can't trust BJP's vaccine, says Akhilesh Yadav as India gears up for mass Covid vaccination

Akhilesh's comment elicited a strong response from Union Minister Anurag Thakur and Deputy Chief Minister, Keshav Prasad Maurya, who said the bizarre appeal is politically motivated.

Thakur said Akhilesh's comment is unfortunate while Maurya said he insulted the doctors and scientists of the country with his remarks.

According to media reports, Akhilesh told the reporters that he couldn't trust the vaccine used by the BJP for vaccination and it wasn't possible to get vaccinated by "BJP's vaccine".

He apparently urged people to wait till his party came to power (after Uttar Pradesh assembly polls in 2022) when his government would provide free Covid vaccination to everyone.

 "How can I trust the vaccine, which will be used for vaccination by the BJP? We cannot get vaccinated by the BJP''s vaccine," the Samajwadi chief was quoted as saying by NDTV.

"Akhilesh Yadav's statement - that he "won't get vaccinated as it is a BJP vaccine" is very unfortunate...What can be more unfortunate than a young leader linking Covid vaccine to a political party. It shows he can't think above politics," Thakur told news agency ANI.

UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya said, "Akhilesh Yadav does not have trust in the vaccine, and people of Uttar Pradesh do not have trust in Akhilesh Yadav. His raising questions on the vaccine is an insult to doctors and scientists of the country. He should tender an apology."

Ahead of the actual vaccination drive, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare today conducted a nationwide mock drill at 285 session sites to test the end-to-end planned operations and the mechanism that has been set up to ensure smooth conduct of the COVID19 vaccination that is expected to begin soon.

This dry run of the vaccination drive spread across 125 districts is covering all States/UTs having adequate representation of urban and rural districts along with hard-to-reach areas.

A government-appointed panel on Friday cleared the Serum Institute of India's Oxford vaccine, which will be sent for approval to the regulator Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness at session sites across the country for Covid-19 vaccination trial run on Saturday.  

The dry run of Covid-19 vaccine is underway at designated locations in all states of India.

In the dry runs, participants will receive dummy Covid-19 vaccines to test the mechanisms ahead of the actual vaccination drive.

"There should be no rumours about the vaccine's safety...Everything has been checked in detail. Initially when the polio vaccine was rolled out, even then rumours had floated. But once it went on the floor, all people were assured about the safety," Vardhan said as quoted by NDTV regarding the vaccine's safety.