Chidambaram seeks CAG-driven audit of vaccine production

The former union minister P Chidambaram said that mystery of the missing vaccines should be unraveled now before "people's anger over shortage of vaccines" pours into the streets.

New Delhi: Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Saturday that the mystery of the "missing vaccines" is deepening every day and a CAG driven full-scope audit of capacity, production, dispatch, supply and customers' lists of two domestic manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines should be done.

The former union minister, who made a series of tweets, said that the mystery of the missing vaccines should be unraveled now before "people's anger over shortage of vaccines" pours into the streets.

"The mystery of the 'missing vaccines' is deepening every day. The statement of Bharat Biotech about the 'lead time' required to produce a batch of vaccines has added to the confusion. The proper thing to do is direct a CAG driven full-scope audit of capacity, production, despatch, supply and customers' lists of the two domestic manufacturers. Better unravel the mystery of the missing vaccines now before public anger over shortage of vaccines pours into the streets," he said.

He said people would like to know the actual quantity of vaccines produced by the two domestic manufacturers - Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India (SII).

"We understand that 'capacity' is one thing and 'production' is a different thing. What we would like to know is the actual quantity produced so far by the two domestic manufacturers," he said.

The Congress leader said corporates should tell from where will they get supply of vaccines for their employees that their families and noted that state governments are not able to get supplies from any manufacturer.

"I welcome the announcements of Reliance Group, HCL and others to vaccinate their employees and their families, business partners etc. and congratulate the corporates. The corporates should also tell us from where they will get the supplies of vaccines," he said.

"State governments are not able to get supplies from any manufacturer -- domestic or foreign. So, from where do the corporates expect to get their supplies?" he asked.

Bharat Biotech had said on Friday that the timeline for manufacturing, testing, and release for a batch of Covaxin is approximately 120 days, depending on the technology framework and regulatory guidelines to be met.

It said the production batches of Covaxin that were initiated during March this year will be ready for supply only during the month of June, approximately after 120 days. While Bharat Biotech manufactures Covaxin, SII manufactures Covishiled vaccine.

(ANI)