Union Minister Aims 'Foreign Vaccine' Taunt at Rahul Gandhi After Pfizer CEO's 'Ambush' at Davos Goes Viral

Union minister Rajeev Chandrashekar on Friday shared a viral video of Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at Davos ignoring questions about his company’s vaccine, using it to hit out at senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh. He claimed that the trio kept “pushing” the case for foreign vaccines in India during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bourla, while walking the streets of Davos, was ambushed with questions about the Pfizer Covid vaccine preventing virus transmission, but chose to stay silent on the topic.

Sharing the video, Chandrashekar claimed that the pharma giant had placed a condition of an indemnity clause when it offered its vaccine to India as the second wave was wreaking havoc in 2021. He then went on to claim that Gandhi, Chidambaram and Ramesh had pushed for foreign vaccines.

The Pfizer vaccine is not available in the country as of now. India kickstarted its massive vaccination drive against Covid-19 with AstraZeneca’s Covishield (made by Serum Institute of India) and the indigenous Covaxin. As the pandemic was raging in 2021, there was immense pressure on the government to buy Pfizer and Moderna vaccines but it put its foot down due to some drastic terms, including an indemnity clause, placed by the pharmaceutical firm.

Last year, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya had reportedly said both Moderna and Pfizer had placed the indemnity condition before the government. According to the indemnity clause, these two companies could not be held responsible or be prosecuted under Indian law in case of any severe side effect or even death on taking their vaccine.

Pfizer CEO ignores questions on Covid vaccine

In the video that has gone viral, however, Bourla is seen walking the streets of Switzerland’s Davos while attending the World Economic Forum. Two reporters ambush him with questions about the Pfizer vaccine’s ability to prevent Covid-19 transmission.

“Mr Bourla, can I ask you – when did you know the vaccines did not stop transmission? How long did you know that before saying it publicly?” asks one of the reporters, to which Bourla responds with a curt “thank you very much”.

The reporter pursues the CEO and asks him why he kept the fact about his company’s vaccine not stopping transmission a secret. “You said it was 100% effective, then 90%, then 80%, then 70%, but we now know that the vaccines do not stop transmission. Why do you keep that secret?” To this, Bourla says, “Have a nice day.”

Another reporter joins the first one to ask Bourla if he will be refunding all the countries that procured the Pfizer vaccine as it was ineffective and causing deaths due to myocarditis. They further ask him if he will be issuing an apology to the public since he “made millions on the backs of people’s entire livelihoods”.

The reporters also question if Bourla is worried about product liability and “young men dropping dead of heart attacks every day”. They also ask him if he should be criminally charged and had personally “made money” off the vaccine.

“How many boosters do you think it will take for you to be happy enough with your earnings?” says one of the reporters, while the other one asks him: “Are you used to only sympathetic media, so you don’t know how to answer any questions?”

Negotiating politics biggest challenge during pandemic: Pfizer CEO

On Thursday, Bourla said the biggest challenge his company and other vaccine-makers faced during the pandemic was negotiating the politics.

Sitting on a panel about pandemic preparedness at the World Economic Forum, he said mask-wearing, vaccine efficacy or questions about delivering the vaccines were all politicised and were constant obstacles for vaccine-makers. He further said protectionism as a result of fear meant the governments closed down borders, making it difficult to export vaccines or bring in raw materials needed to make them.

(With agency inputs)

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