Bar use of calf serum in vaccine production, PETA urges govt.

'Direct vaccine makers to use animal-free, commercially available media'

Animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has urged the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) V.G. Somani to direct vaccine manufacturers to replace new-born calf serum (NBCS) with animal-free, commercially available and chemically-defined media for the production of COVID-19 vaccine. PETA cited reports that Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research, uses NBCS during the production stage as the trigger for its appeal. “The calves used in the extraction of this serum are taken away from their mothers shortly after birth, which traumatises and distresses both the mother and calf,” said PETA India Science Policy Adviser Ankita Pandey.