India is currently battling the 2nd wave of the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. As of May 1, the country has reported 32.68 lac active cases and a total of 2.11 fatalities. Amidst the rising cases, we have witnessed how the left-liberal lobby has resorted to vulture politics to attack the current political dispensation at the Centre. Even when the number of active cases was low, the vicious lobby tried to derail the government’s vaccination drive.
Prominent political leaders, businessmen, lawyers, and journalists led a nefarious online campaign to create panic and cast aspersions about the efficacy of the Coronavirus vaccine. While some opposed vaccination programme to turn around their political fortunes, others targetted the vaccine manufacturers in a bid to demoralise them. In a Twitter thread, popular Twitter user ‘Yo-Yo Funny Singh’ shared a list of 10 ‘covidiots’ and ‘vaccine naysayers’ who have done a disservice to India and humanity in general.
In January this year, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav dragged politics into the much-needed vaccination drive in the country. Saying that he cannot trust ‘BJP’s vaccine’, Akhilesh Yadav tried to create panic in the society. He claimed that he would only get vaccinated when his government is after the next election. He had also promised to give free vaccines to all.
He said, “I am not going to get vaccinated for now. How can I trust BJP’s vaccine, when our government will be formed everyone will get free vaccine. We cannot take BJP’s vaccine.” Later, he took a U-turn and said, “Vaccination against coronavirus is a sensitive process. As such, the BJP must refrain from making it a show-off event and conduct the programme only after necessary arrangements for the same are done.”
On January 6, ‘rebel’ News24 journalist Sandeep Chaudhary claimed on air that he would not get vaccinated against Coronavirus with the Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech. “I will not take the vaccine until the efficacy and third-phase trial is conducted. I am still a proud Indian.”
On April 28, the sceptical journalist took a sharp U-turn and said that doctor’s assistance is a crucial element supposedly guaranteed under Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) of the Indian Constitution. Chaudhary, who was earlier seen snubbing a guest for asking him to undergo vaccination, cried foul over not being vaccinated free of cost. “Why should I be denied vaccination and not administered it free of cost? Why vaccine prices are different,” he inquired.
Cartoonist Satish Acharya had been one of the leading anti-vaxxers. Through his cartoons, he had been mocking the ongoing vaccination drive and the efficacy of the Coronavirus vaccines. His cartoons could have possibly given the impression to his followers that the vaccines are unsafe. However, as India witnessed rising Coronavirus cases amidst the 2nd wave, the cartoonist was quick to get vaccinated. He had even uploaded a picture of himself being administered the first vaccine dose.
Prominent Congress leader Manish Tewari was not far behind in joining the bandwagon of anti-vaxxers, just to oppose the vaccination programme initiated by the Modi government. In early January, he had asked, “Who is going to get himself vaccinated with a vaccine where there are question marks over its reliability?”
Besides casting aspersions about the vaccine, he had also blamed the Centre for using the pandemic to further its supposed ‘dictatorial agenda’. Tewari also claimed that it was PM Modi’s quest to prove ‘self-reliance’ that they approved the emergency use of the Covaxin vaccine.
Congress loyalist and businessman Rajiv Bajaj had also turned an ‘health expert’ amidst the pandemic. In an interview with the left-propagandist channel NDTV, he suggested that those with health complications must refrain from receiving the Coronavirus vaccine.
Following his sweeping medical advice, Rajiv Bajaj also claimed that he adhered to a middle ground on the vaccine controversy. He said that he was neither pro-vaccine nor anti-vaccine and that people must ask themselves whether they should get vaccinated against the Coronavirus infection at all.
Lawyer-turned-activist Prashant Bhushan had discouraged the Indian government in early February for procuring the Covershield vaccine from a private company, the Serum Institute of India (SII). He had blamed the government for supposedly splurging ₹35,000 crore funds for Coronavirus vaccines at a time when the pandemic is ‘naturally dying down in India.’ He had also cast aspersions about the efficacy of the vaccines and alleged that the public is being kept in darkness about it.
The other Covidiots in the list focussed primarily on targeting Covaxin, the same indigenous vaccine that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was administered. It must be mentioned that Covaxin was only allowed for ’emergency use’ initially. However, Shashi Tharoor saw an opportunity to trivialise the vaccination programme altogether.
In a tweet, he had claimed, “The Covaxin has not yet had Phase 3 trials. Approval was premature and could be dangerous. Dr. Harshvardhan should please clarify. Its use should be avoided till full trials are over. India can start with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the meantime,” Shashi Tharoor had tweeted on January 3.
Chhattisgarh health Minister TS Singh Deo had also tweeted, “We do not support the use of #COVAXIN in the vaccination process in Chhattisgarh for one simple reason – It is NOT SAFE to use any vaccine unless it has completed the recommended testing process with absolute authentication and success.”
Although he claimed to be proud of ‘Bharat Biotech’, he further added, “Rushing into general use before trials are complete will set a precedent where other companies will seek emergency use authorisation before completing mandated trials. This may also jeopardise the valuable lives and health of our citizens.”
Self-proclaimed ‘journalist’ Swati Chaturvedi had also expressed her ‘zero faith’ in Bharat Biotech vaccine. She had also hinted at a possible ‘corporate nexus’ between Bharat Biotech and the Indian government, besides vowing to not receive the Covaxin vaccine.
Lastly, left-propagandist portal The Print published outrageous articles to create widespread fear and panic among the masses about Covaxin and the vaccination drive in general. From calling the DGCA’s approval of Covaxin for emergency use as a ‘political jumla’ to discovering non-existent regulatory pitfalls, The Print too left no stone unturned in its nefarious pursuit.
Despite the collective effort of all vaccine naysayers and Covidiots, India has vaccinated a whopping 27 lac people on May 1 itself. The vaccination drive, which was carried out in phases, has so far administered 15.49 crore doses. While the left-liberal lobby tried to fearmonger and create widespread hysteria, Indian citizens responded positively to the government’s call to get vaccinated. India’s fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus is far from over but the country is resisting the virus and the vicious forces with all its power and might.
