On February 26, a news item appeared on the website of the TSN TV channel with the headline: “Vaccination for the poor”: an immunologist “analyzed” an Indian drug used to vaccinate Ukrainians. The news was based on the statement of immunologist Andriy Volyansky, which he voiced on Channel 24. In it, the immunologist made at least two false statements. Consider them in more detail.
MESSAGE 1: Only 186 vaccinated people were in the immunogenicity study of this vaccine
“My skepticism means that there is no data. If in the trials of the vaccine from AstraZeneca several thousand people were involved, according to Covishield, only 186 vaccinated people were in the study on the immunogenicity of this vaccine; it is very small,” said the doctor.
REFUTATION:
Two studies on the Covishield vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) were published in the Lancet. One study concerned the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, with 11,636 participants. 7548 participated in clinical trials in the UK. 4088 participants participated in the study in Brazil.
Another study concerns the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine. This study involved 1,077 volunteers. It is unknown where the immunologist got the number “186”.
MESSAGE 2: “This vaccine has not been licensed in developed countries.”
“Neither Europe, nor America, nor Japan, nor Canada have licensed and will not license this vaccine. About a billion doses of this vaccine will be used in the COVAX program. This is a vaccination for poor countries,” Volyansky said.
REFUTATION:
As early as February 19, ahead of the vaccination campaign in Ukraine, Western media reported that Canada was going to buy 1 million doses of Covishield because manufacturers such as Pfizer and Moderna had slowed their supplies to North America. And on February 26, the Canadian Ministry of Health approved the Covishield vaccine.
“Today, the Ministry of Health of Canada approved two vaccines: a vaccine developed by Astra Zeneka and developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, and a version of the Astra Zeneka vaccine from the Indian Serum Institute of India.”
It should be noted that the immunologist admitted later on his Facebook page that Canada had approved the vaccine, but did TSN’s multimillion-dollar audience hear it?
Who is Andriy Volyansky?
Andriy Volyansky is a Kharkiv immunologist. He often questions the current vaccination calendar in Ukraine, and, contrary to international recommendations, advises to undergo numerous pre-vaccination examinations. Read about it in our next materials.
CONCLUSION
- The Covishield vaccine is a development of Astra Zeneka, which is produced at the facilities of the Indian plant Serum Institute of India.
- This vaccine is currently approved by the WHO and approved for use in India, Ukraine and Canada.
Author: Natalia Bushkovska