Health ministry clarified on newborn calf serum in covaccine

Health ministry clarified on newborn calf serum in covaccine

SRINAGAR, JUNE 16 (PTK): The Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday that some posts on social media regarding the use of newborn calf serum in the indigenously manufactured covid vaccine have been distorted and presented in wrong contexts.

The ministry issued a statement saying, “Newborn calf serum is used only for the production and growth of vero cells. Serum from cows and other animals is part of the normal process of developing vero cells around the world.”

Vero cells are used to produce living cells that help in the production of vaccines. This technology has been used for decades to prepare vaccines for polio, rabies and influenza.

Once developed, the vero cells are washed several times with water and chemicals to free them from the serum of the newborn calf. The Health Ministry has told that after this the virus cells are infected with the corona virus so that this virus can be developed.

In the process of developing the corona virus, the virus cells are completely destroyed. After this, the virus prepared is inactivated and purified. This inactivated virus is used to make the final product vaccine.

According to the statement of the Ministry of Health, the serum of the newborn calf is not used in the final process of manufacturing the vaccine.

“Therefore Covaccine does not contain in any way the serum of the newborn calf. The serum of the newborn calf is not part of the final product.”