Manish Tewari criticises Covid vaccination drive, Dr Harsh Vardhan slams him for questioning efficacy

New Delhi: As the nationwide vaccination drive for Covid-19 kicked off today, Congress MP Manish Tewari and Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan locked horns on Twitter after the former raised questions over efficacy and safety of the two indigenous vaccines, approved for emergency use in the country.

The Health Minister accused the Congress of spreading “distrust and rumours” and said that the science behind the vaccines is “resolute”. “

“Our scientists have worked at lightning speed to expedite functions that contribute to development of a vaccine but not a single function has been circumvented. Safety above all else has been the guiding principle!,” he tweeted.

So blinded are we by our passions that we suffer more to be damned than to be saved
-Charles Caleb Colton

Sh @ManishTewari & @INCIndia are only passionate about spreading distrust & rumours

Open your eyes,sharing photos of eminent Doctors & Govt functionaries getting inoculated https://t.co/kYzOtRXZcq pic.twitter.com/9Y1Bvm65ug

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) January 16, 2021

This came after Tewari claimed that the government functionaries are not getting themselves vaccinated due to the safety and reliability of the vaccine.

Responding to the Dr Harsh Vardhan’s attack, Tewari said his concerns were “real and not imagined” and accused the Health Minister of hiding behind “vaccine nationalism”. “It is not fear Mongering. Look what is happening in Norway. It may be a different vaccine but do not hide behind vaccine nationalism,” he wrote on Twitter. “Expected better of you sir.”

Dear Dr @drharshvardhan

Concerns that I have articulated are real & not imagined. It is not fear Mongering.Look what is happening in Norway. It may be a different vaccine but do not hide behind vaccine nationalism. ANS QUES’s
Expected better of you Sir https://t.co/VFo1fXEEa9 https://t.co/eSWUxpmrvU

— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) January 16, 2021

Tewari was referring to 23 deaths in Norway a short time after receiving their first dose of the vaccine. According to the Norwegian Medicines Agency, 13 people had died after taking vaccine suggesting that side effects may have led to severe reactions in frail, elderly people.

If the vaccine is so safe & reliable & efficacy of the vaccine is beyond question then how is it that not a single functionary of the government has stepped forward to get themselves vaccinated as it has happened in other countries around the world?: Congress MP Manish Tewari https://t.co/M1PdUV96Xr

— ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2021

Earlier today, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Singh Guleria along with NITI Aayog member VK Paul were administered the COVID-19 vaccine shot at AIIMS Delhi on the inaugural day of the nationwide roll-out of vaccination on Saturday.