Lucknow man alleges no antibodies developed after taking Covishield shot, files complaint against Adar Poonawalla, ICMR chief

A man from Lucknow has filed a police complaint against Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla, ICMR director-general Dr Balram Bhargava and others on Tuesday alleging that no antibodies against COVID-19 were developed in his body despite being inoculated with a single dose of Covishield.

Pratap Chandra, who is a resident of city's Ruchi Khand area, also named Union Health Ministry's Joint Secretary Luv Aggarwal, National Health Mission Director Aparna Upadhyay and others in his complaint to the Ashiyana police station officer in charge.

Chandra, who took the first shot of Covishield on April 8, alleged that he did not develop antibodies and even his platelets count dropped.


"I took the first dose of Covishield on April 8. As per the recent government guidelines, we need to wait for a minimum of 12 weeks to take the second dose. Out of curiosity, I wanted to know whether I developed antibodies in my body or not. I got myself tested at a nearby government-approved lab on May 25 and found out that I did not develop antibodies," he stated in the complaint.

"The test result revealed that I did not develop any antibodies against Covid-19, instead, my platelets were reduced to 1.5 lakh from 3 lakh. This is not only disappointing but hazardous for my life," he said.

The police have registered the complaint but did not file the FIR so far. The police said, considering the sensitivity of the matter, they have informed the top officials before taking any further action.

Chandra also threatened to go to court if an FIR is not filed in the matter.

"If FIR is not filed, then I will move to the Court. I have also mentioned in this complaint all those government institutions, whose authorised this vaccine for vaccination. This matter is being considered by the higher authorities, after which further action can be taken," he told ANI.

Besides Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V are currently being used for vaccination against COVID-19 in the country.