According to a recent study published on June 11, 2024, by Brian Hooker and Dr. Jacob Puliyel in the International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine, Bharat Biotech’s Rotavac vaccine can increase the risk of bowel gangrene in babies due to intussusception.
According to a recent study, intestinal problems may result from Rotovac, an indigenous rotavirus vaccine produced by Bharat Biotech. The International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine published the study’s conclusions. The vaccine, which is a component of the government immunization program, has been linked to a higher incidence of intussusception in infants, the study claims.
When one section of the intestine slides into the other, a dangerous condition known as intussusception occurs. If left untreated, this illness could result in intestinal gangrene or even death.
The study, co-authored by Brian Hooker of Children’s Health Defense and Jacob Puliyel, MD of the International Institute of Health Management Research, India, was published on June 11, 2024. It found that infants who received vaccinations had a 1.6-fold higher risk of intussusception, which had not been seen in earlier analyses.
As per an article published in the Economic Times, Puliyel underscored the necessity of parents being aware of this risk because immunization can resemble symptoms of dysentery.
Bharat Biotech’s Response
Bharat Biotech, meanwhile, disregarded the report and declared that the vaccine’s safety had undergone a thorough assessment. The business cited earlier studies, such as one published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2020, which found that newborns who received vaccinations had no higher risk of intussusception than the background rate.
The manufacturer reiterated the safety of Rotovac, stressing that it is made from human rotavirus strains rather than those derived from animals. The pharmaceutical company reportedly questioned the validity of the current study and criticized its methodology, claiming it strayed from accepted statistical models.
Rotavac, a live attenuated rotavirus vaccination, did not increase the incidence of intussusception, according to a 2020 analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Using a statistical technique known as self-controlled case series (SCCS), it was found that the risk of intussusception was similar to background risk during the high-risk window, which is 21 days following any vaccination dose.
The data, according to the business, is a reanalysis of previously collected data that was “out of line with the experimental design and statistical plan,” not brand-new. Therefore, it cannot be meaningfully interpreted to warrant careful attention,” the statement continued.
“Rotovac is manufactured using human rotavirus strains and not from animal origin. Hence, the rate of intussusception is similar in vaccinated and non-vaccinated subjects,” the company said in a statement.
Bharat Biotech, meanwhile, noted that the ET story omitted details from the statement on a PIL that was dismissed from the Delhi High Court because it was “misconceived and motivated with private interest.” Dr. Puliyel submitted the plea.
Bharat Biotech said, “Furthermore, the Economic Times has omitted an important part of our statement, depriving the readers of this crucial information: Dr. Jacob Puliyel filed a Writ Petition (allegedly PIL), being WP(C.) No. 6913 of 2015 before the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi, seeking segregated data of ‘Rotovac vaccine’ wherein the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi vide order dated 14.10.2015 while dismissing the writ petition had castigated Dr. Puliyel by stating that the writ petition is misconceived and motivated with private interest.”
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was brought in 2015 by Dr. Puliyel in the Delhi High Court to obtain the release of Rotavac’s segregated clinical trial data. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), among other national and international organizations, reviewed extensive evidence before the vaccine was approved, the court noted in dismissing the case.
The High Court further noted that the vaccine was included in the National Immunization Program at NTAGI’s request and that Dr. Puliyel was a member of NTAGI.
Origin of Bharat Biotech
Contrary to popular belief, Bill Gates and the global pharmaceutical lobby supported Bharat Biotech, the Indian company that produced the “Swadeshi” COVID-19 vaccine, from the beginning. The first Indian business to receive significant funding for a Rotavirus vaccine (Rovac) from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is Bharat Biotech. The vaccine was approved by the government before its trials were finished, and there is still debate about its effectiveness, with cases approaching the Supreme Court.
Birth of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
According to the account, Bill Gates became passionate about health in 1996 after reading an article about Rotavirus, a disease he had never heard of, in the New York Times. He and his wife, Melinda, co-founded the Gates Foundation in part because of this moment. To develop a Rotavirus vaccine, Gates provided enormous funds over the following two decades to a vast global partnership of scientists and decision-makers. The vaccination known by this name, Rotavac, was developed in India.
Birth of “Swadeshi” Bharat Biotech
Duncan Steele, a virologist who has devoted the majority of his 35-year career to studying Rotavirus, is the main character in the Rotavac narrative. To find a Rotavirus cure, Steele worked with researchers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. At AIIMS, a strain that functioned as a natural vaccination was discovered in children. This Rotavirus strain was altered in the late 1990s by a team of scientists at the National Institutes of Health in the United States as part of the Indo-US Vaccine Action Program (VAP) to make it suitable as the foundation for a vaccine.
The production of Rotavac on a large scale was now the main issue. The new vaccine’s main target market was India, but no vaccine manufacturer could meet the demand. As a result, the network of foreign powers provided enormous cash to establish Bharat Biotech, an appropriately titled “Swadeshi” Indian vaccine corporation.
Bharat Biotech was formed by Dr. Krishna Ella, a molecular scientist who had no prior expertise in treating viruses or creating vaccinations. The pharma lobby thought he was the best candidate for the position, despite—or perhaps because of—his lack of experience in the industry. Snake Valley, which is now known as Genome Valley and is home to the offices and laboratories of multinational pharmaceutical corporations like Merck, Roche, Johnson & Johnson, and even Monsanto, was the location of Bharat Biotech’s headquarters.
Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that according to a study conducted by researchers at Banaras Hindu University and published in Springer Nature, adolescent girls are at risk of adverse events after receiving Covaxin.
