Kerala man knocks court for Covishield after two doses of Covaxin

A man has petitioned the Kerala High Court for a third
dose of vaccination against COVID-19 after finding out the first two ones were
not approved in the country of his employment.  The Centre submitted it cannot consider the
request as “there is currently no provision for giving more than two doses of
the vaccine to one person,” news agency ANI reported.

50-year-old Girikumar from Kannur received both doses of Covaxin
on his return to India from Saudi Arabia during the second wave in January
after registering on the CoWin portal using his passport details.

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Since Covaxin is not recognised in Saudi Arabia, the man has
pleaded he must be revaccinated with  Covishield as he will lose his job if he does
not return to work before August 30.

The Centre has argued that a person who receives more
than two vaccines is “more likely to have health problems,” citing the lack of international
guidelines for administering a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine. “No other
studies have been conducted in this regard. The petitioner’s claim cannot be
considered in this case. If we consider this demand, more people are likely to
approach the court with a similar demand,” the Centre said.

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According to the petition, Girikumar got the first dose of
Covaxin on April 17, and the second a month later.

He later came to know that the Saudi authorities had not
approved Covaxin. The petition argues that Girikumar would not have taken the
vaccine had the authorities informed the public about its non-approval.

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“He never knew his decision would put his job abroad in
jeopardy,” the petition says.

He has been working as a welder in a construction firm in
Saudi Arabia after migrating to the kingdom in 1996.

Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is approved for emergency use in
16 countries but has failed to obtain a World Health Organization Emergency Use
Listing. Serum Institute of India’s Covishield was approved by WHO in February.