Mumbai: Is a vaccine even needed for COVID, Citizens group question

Even as the nation waits for a COVID19 vaccine with bated breath the recently formed citizens movement group Awaken India put forward a question Is a vaccine even required for COVID19 at a press meet held at the Marathi Patrakar in CSMT on Friday afternoon Various speakers including students activists and lawyers spoke on the topic and highlighted aspects like faulty RTPCR tests herd immunity legal accountability and after effects of vaccine trialsQuestions unansweredThe group has been carrying out an antimask campaign for the past several months and also believes that the vaccine should not be made compulsory for people Questionable data faulty tests and media hype have led to people across the world waiting desperately for a COVID19 vaccine said the group Amid the desperation and pharma company proclamations many key questions remain unanswered it added Speakers at the event included noted activist Feroze Mithiborwala Namman Bhasin Ambar Koiri and Bhavya Dhawan who are members of Awaken IndiaSpeaking to midday Mithiborwala said On one hand we are saying that the COVID19 numbers are dropping but on the other we are still rolling out vaccines whose sideeffects are not yet fully known Even if it the vaccine has to be rolled out why make it mandatory I believe it will do more harm than good He added This was never a pandemic A sense of fear psychosis has been created over the past eight to nine months by saying that cases have been constantly rising The RTPCR tests are fraudulent and can be easily manipulatedPublic health and safety require utmost caution and informed consent of citizens I dont understand why were talking about every single person being coerced into taking an experimental vaccine that has been produced in just a couple of months If the vaccines being produced do not guarantee that people wont get COVID or its spread can be stopped then what is the point of taking it said BhasinHerd immunityThe discussion also focused on herd immunity lack of legal liability and accountability of pharma companies with regards to vaccines and previous vaccine scandals in India Nationwide Serological Surveys show that 50 per cent of the population has developed antibodies Hence as a nation we have already achieved herd immunity said the group in its press statementA PowerPoint presentation spoke about how pharma companies own many doctors researchers academic institutions and how many socalled reports or evidence that are relied upon are written and reinforced by individuals who have financial ties with the firms According to the group media and social networks also played a vital role in ensuring that the abovementioned information was constantly suppressed discredited or hidden from the public eye The group added We live in information bubbles and cannot easily see what is happening in other countries People should go through this with an open mindKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news