They thought they were being vaccinated. It was an ordeal.

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Residents of the slums of the central Indian city of Bhopal, who recalled hearing about the offer in December, said they rushed to include it. 750 rupees ($ 10) is about double what they would normally earn for a hard day’s work.

“They told us it’s the corona vaccine and we should get it so we don’t get sick,” said Yashoda Bai Yadav, a housewife from Bhopal who participated in the trial with her husband.

But they say they later found out from local activists that some of them had not received an approved vaccine. Instead, they had unwittingly participated in a clinical trial for Covaxin, the homegrown vaccine in India. Only half of the participants in the Phase 3 study of Covaxin received a vaccine – the other half received a placebo, a normal part of clinical trials.

One participant, Radha Aherwar, only found out it was possible she was getting a placebo while talking to CNN and said, “Oh, so what I was getting was not a vaccine? I didn’t know there was a possibility that you could get a water. shot. ”

Their experience suggests that the People’s Hospital medical team that conducted the trial may not have explained sufficiently that they were part of a trial and that only a few participants would receive a vaccine. Both alleged lapses, if proven true, appear to violate Indian clinical trial rules requiring informed consent from all participants.

The study was sponsored by the developers of the vaccine, the Indian biotech company Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Bharat Biotech, ICMR and People’s Hospital have all denied wrongdoing.

It also raises questions about the quality of the data in the trial. Experts such as Amar Jesani, the editor of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, are concerned that this could lead to vaccine hesitancy among some groups in India.

YOU ASKED. WE ANSWER

Ask: I am pregnant. Should I Get the Covid-19 Vaccine?

A: We asked CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen for her advice. Wen isn’t just an emergency physician and public health expert; she is also the mother of a three-year-old son and a ten-month-old girl who was born during the pandemic.

Here’s what she said: “Based on what we know about the vaccine, there is no reason to believe it will adversely affect the pregnancy or the long-term health of the mother or the baby. evidence does not mean it cannot exist, but this kind of theoretically very low risk must be weighed against the real and potentially very high risk of a severe outcome from Covid-19.

Read Wen’s full guidance here.
Send your questions hereAre you a health professional fighting Covid-19? Send us a message on WhatsApp about the challenges you are facing: + 1347-322-0415.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TODAY

Big day for Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine

Vaccine advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are scheduled to meet Friday to discuss the possible emergency authorization of a third coronavirus vaccine for the U.S., this vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Biotech vaccine division.
Its approval could speed up the roll-out of vaccinations across the country. President Joe Biden on Thursday commemorated 50 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines administered since he took office, using it as a benchmark against his promise to put 100 million shots in people’s arms in his first 100 days. But he also warned that there is “still a long way to go” before life will return to normal.

Covid’s restrictions forced Russian diplomats to leave North Korea on a hand-pushed railway carriage

Eight employees of the Russian embassy in Pyongyang and their families spent more than 34 hours trying to leave North Korea this week, a grueling journey that ended with at least one diplomat pushing his luggage and young children into Russian territory on a train carriage.

North Korea’s borders have been effectively closed for months as part of Kim Jong Un’s efforts to keep Covid-19 at bay, stranding the few diplomats active in the country. The labyrinthine journey was the only way the Russian diplomats and their families could leave, the Russian embassy said on its verified Facebook page.

Russian diplomats working at the embassy in Pyongyang had to use a hand car when they returned home from North Korea with their relatives.

Arthritis drugs can help critically ill Covid-19 patients, the study suggests

Drugs typically used to treat rheumatoid arthritis may help critically ill Covid-19 patients in intensive care units, a new study finds. The drugs reduce inflammation, and doctors hope they can help patients recover from the overwhelming immune response that Covid-19 sometimes causes.

But experts warn that more research is needed before doctors start using the drugs more widely. Another new study found that a similar drug did not help patients hospitalized with Covid-19 pneumonia get significantly better. The two studies were published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

ON OUR RADAR

  • Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II says those who refuse vaccines should ‘think about other people instead of themselves’.
  • South Korea began rolling out vaccines on Friday as health authorities extended current social distance measures and the ban on gatherings of five or more people to March 14.
  • According to a US diplomat in China, US officials in China have asked local authorities not to subject US personnel in the country to Covid-19 anal smears.
  • Athletes are encouraged to get vaccinated against Covid-19 before the Tokyo Olympics, but it will not be mandatory, IOC Vice President John Coates said Thursday.
  • The Thai government has implemented a “wave quarantine program” to boost the ailing tourism industry.

TOP TIP

Are you going to the gym? Wear a mask.

Wearing masks and other safety precautions are key to stopping the spread of Covid-19 during indoor group exercise, according to two new reports published by the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention. The two studies, published Wednesday, linked Covid-19 outbreaks in the summer to training facilities in Chicago and Honolulu.

In the Chicago report, 60% of people who attended personal fitness classes at one facility between August 24 and September 1 tested positive for Covid-19. Another 7% of those present reported symptoms consistent with the disease.

TODAY’S PODCAST

“Frankly, when the United States is providing resources and getting out of the way, the Cherokee Nation is doing a fantastic job of delivering healthcare.” – Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr.

Covid-19 has disproportionately affected Native American communities, but when it comes to vaccine distribution, tribal health care providers actually outnumber many states. CNN’s Harmeet Kaur speaks with Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. about the success of his tribe. Listen now

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