The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has requested the removal of its acknowledgment from a study on the Covaxin vaccine conducted by professors at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). The study, titled “Long-Term Safety Analysis of the BBVl52 Coronavirus Vaccine in Adolescents and Adults: Findings from a 1-Year Prospective Study in North India” by Kaur et al., was published in the journal Drug Safety. ICMR criticized the study for erroneously including its support and for serious methodological flaws.
In a letter to the authors and the publisher, Springer Nature, ICMR chief Rajiv Bahl demanded the removal of ICMR’s acknowledgment and the publication of an erratum. Bahl pointed out that the study used inappropriate tools that did not align with the ‘Adverse Events of Special Interest (AESI)’ standards and that data collection was conducted via telephone a year after vaccination without verification through clinical records or physician examination, introducing significant bias. He emphasized that the ICMR had not provided any financial or technical support for this research.
Bahl warned that failure to comply with the demand to remove the acknowledgment and publish an erratum could lead to legal and administrative action. The ICMR played a pivotal role in developing and testing vaccines like Covaxin during the coronavirus pandemic, making its stance on the integrity and accuracy of research involving its name particularly significant.
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