PETA urges DCGI to replace fetal bovine serum for vax production

New Delhi, June 17 People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India Replaces Newborn Calf Serum (NBCS) with Animal-Free Chemical Solution to Indian Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Thursday I requested. Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin.

PETA wrote to DCGI’s Dr. VG Somani Thursday morning to direct vaccine manufacturers to Covaxin, an Indian-specific Covid-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Medical Research Council (ICMR). Following the report, we considered the proposal. The production phase uses NBCS extracted from the blood of slaughtered calves less than 20 days old.

“The calf used to extract this serum is taken away from the mother shortly after birth, injuring and distressing both the mother and the calf,” says Dr. Ankita Pandi, PETA’s Indian Science Policy Advisor. ..

“PETA India is looking to Drugs Controller to ensure that vaccine manufacturers switch to available animal-free media that overcome the limitations associated with the use of animal-derived serum.”

The 2001 Animal Cruelty Prevention (Slaughterhouse) Regulations prohibit the processing of meat in pregnant and younger than 3 months old animals. Therefore, the use of serum obtained by slaughtering calves younger than 20 days for vaccine production is also prohibited. It is allowed.

Slaughter of cattle, sometimes calves, bulls and buffaloes is prohibited in many states of India. In countries where killing cattle and often calves is prohibited by law, importing and using NBCS produced by killing the same animals in other countries is inappropriate and unethical for most people. It is considered to be the target.

The use of animal-derived components such as NBCS in vaccine production compromises the quality and reproducibility of studies and is often associated with the risk of contamination by non-human proteins and pathogens.

The use of animal-derived serum can also delay Covid-19 vaccine production if a deficiency is experienced, as vaccine production increases the concern that it is avoided by the use of available animal-free products.

“Animal-free medium is already commercially available and can be used to grow Vero cells for virus production instead of using NBCS extracted by calf slaughter,” PETA India wrote in a letter. It is stated in.

PETA India has imminent modernization of vaccine production methods, especially in countries such as India, where there are religious, cultural and emotional connections to cattle and calves, and injuring them is a punishable crime. Claims to be a necessity.

“PETA India and related scientists have led efforts to stop the use of animals for serum production. At PETA Science Consortium International, where PETA India is a member, researchers are replacing fetal bovine serum and NBCS. There are online resources available. In cell culture medium. “

PETA India’s request will be made the day after the central government announces that Covaxin does not contain any newborn calf serum.

“The facts are twisted and misrepresented,” the government said. “Newborn calf serum is used only for the preparation or proliferation of Vero cells.”

The United Ministry of Health points out that sera from various types of cattle and other animals are standard concentrates and are used worldwide for vero cell proliferation, and the United Ministry of Health said Vero cells help in the production of vaccines. He said it would be used to establish cell lifespan.

“This technology has been used for decades in polio, rabies, and flu vaccines. What these Vero cells are in water that contains chemicals (technically also called buffers) after growth. It is often washed and released from newborn calves, after which these Vero cells become infected with the corona virus due to virus growth.

“Vero cells are completely destroyed during viral growth. The propagated virus is then killed (inactivated) and purified. The dead virus is used in the production of the final vaccine and in the final vaccine formulation the offspring. No bovine serum is used. “

Therefore, the ministry said that the final vaccine, covaxin, does not contain any neonatal calf serum, and calf serum is not a component of the final vaccine product.

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