Avaccine manufacturer based in India launched defamation proceedings against researchers who published a study that reported adverse events in people following Covid-19 vaccination.
The manufacturer also sued the editor of the international journal that published the study and demanded that the offending article be retracted immediately.
The Peer-Reviewed Study
The study at the centre of the controversy is a post-marketing safety analysis (phase IV) of Covaxin, one of India’s homegrown Covid-19 vaccines.
The researchers concluded that serious adverse events of special interest (AESI) after vaccination “might not be uncommon” and that the majority of AESIs in people persisted “for a significant period.”
Of the 635 participants involved, one-third reported developing AESIs such as new-onset skin disorders, nervous system disorders, and menstrual and ocular abnormalities.
Serious AESI, such as stroke and Guillain-Barre syndrome, were experienced by 1% of participants, but no causal link could be established in the study.
The researchers called for “enhanced awareness and larger studies” to carefully examine the potential for long-term harms of the vaccine.
The study was published in the journal Drug Safety on May 13, 2024, after it was examined by two independent peer-reviewers and the editor of the journal.
Hellbound and Down 