US-based animal rights protection group PETA has been accused many times of its double standards and cultural racism.
A day after Bharat Biotech and the Government of India clarified that indigenous Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin finished product does not contain calf serum, as expected PETA pounced to get some mileage out, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India wrote to the Drugs Controller General of India urging them to replace new born calf serum with an animal-free chemical solution.
But what PETA skipped to understand is, this is an old practice for all vaccines R & D. Calf serum’s biological properties make it crucial for rapid cell growth as new born calf have fewer antibody properties or for instance even aborted foetal cells are used.
Bharat Biotech has already addressed and said that Covaxin is pure and there is no trace of calf serum in the finished product.
