You are here

Responses

Article menu

Download PDFPDF

Letter
Fake COVID-19 vaccination in India: an emerging dilemma?
Free
Compose a Response to This Article
Compose Response

More information about text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Author Information
First or given name, e.g. 'Peter'.
Your last, or family, name, e.g. 'MacMoody'.
Your email address, e.g. higgs-boson@gmail.com
Your role and/or occupation, e.g. 'Orthopedic Surgeon'.
Your organization or institution (if applicable), e.g. 'Royal Free Hospital'.
Statement of Competing Interests

PLEASE NOTE:

  • A rapid response is a moderated but not peer reviewed online response to a published article in a BMJ journal; it will not receive a DOI and will not be indexed unless it is also republished as a Letter, Correspondence or as other content. Find out more about rapid responses.
  • We intend to post all responses which are approved by the Editor, within 14 days (BMJ Journals) or 24 hours (The BMJ), however timeframes cannot be guaranteed. Responses must comply with our requirements and should contribute substantially to the topic, but it is at our absolute discretion whether we publish a response, and we reserve the right to edit or remove responses before and after publication and also republish some or all in other BMJ publications, including third party local editions in other countries and languages
  • Our requirements are stated in our rapid response terms and conditions and must be read. These include ensuring that: i) you do not include any illustrative content including tables and graphs, ii) you do not include any information that includes specifics about any patients,iii) you do not include any original data, unless it has already been published in a peer reviewed journal and you have included a reference, iv) your response is lawful, not defamatory, original and accurate, v) you declare any competing interests, vi) you understand that your name and other personal details set out in our rapid response terms and conditions will be published with any responses we publish and vii) you understand that once a response is published, we may continue to publish your response and/or edit or remove it in the future.
  • By submitting this rapid response you are agreeing to our terms and conditions for rapid responses and understand that your personal data will be processed in accordance with those terms and our privacy notice.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Vertical Tabs

Other responses

Jump to comment:

  • Published on: 7 October 2021
    Fact checks and unwelcome consequences of fake COVID-19 vaccination news from India
    • Velayudhan Mohan Kumar, Research Scientist Kerala Chapter, National Academy of Medical Sciences (India), New Delhi, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8477-6679
    • Other Contributors:
      • Seithikurippu R. Pandi-Perumal, Research Scientist

    An article titled "Fake COVID-19 vaccination in India: a growing dilemma?" was published in this journal.1 This was followed by another article titled “Fake COVID-19 vaccines: scams hampering the vaccination drive in India and possibly other countries” in another journal.2 Though scientists in any part of the world have the right to comment or critique about COVID-19 vaccination in India or elsewhere, it is important to double-check the facts before publishing, especially if they are sensitive matters from another country. Many political decisions are made based on articles published in prestigious medical journals, which the public trusts and holds in high respect. In mid-September 2021, the UK announced new rules mandating that travellers from 17 countries do not have to self-isolate if they are fully vaccinated when they arrive in the UK, but the list did not include India.3 India reciprocated the UK COVID curbs by promulgating that UK nationals will have to undergo quarantine for ten days after arriving in India from the UK.4 Can we say that the articles like the present ones did not influence the action of the UK government? Subsequently, both the countries withdrew their curbs later.
    This article has not only cast doubts on the COVID-19 vaccines produced in India but also on the digital vaccine certificates that were given to the vaccinated. We'll dissect some of the mis- and disinformation, and other statements of this article. Of more than one...

    Show More
    Conflict of Interest:
    None declared.