'Lancet report on India COVID-19 response another attempt to undermine developing country's ability to challenge big pharma's monopoly'

Medical journal Lancet's latest report on COVID-19 situation in India that discusses the Indian government's management of the pandemic is yet another attempt by the big pharma lobby to undermine the "abilities of a developing country to challenge their monopoly by rolling out vaccines at throwaway prices," according to a report in EUreporter.

At a time when aid, empathy and partnerships happen to be India's foremost concerns, the EUreporter said that globally reputed publications should desist from "toying with politicized articles and commercial ideas, which are deeply demoralizing to any nation in such testing times"

The Brussels-based news website said repeated reports and articles in the international media have questioned the vaccination drive and the ability of India to mass-produce vaccines to cater for the world in order to downplay Indian vaccines and subsequently fill the momentary vacuum in the market.

"This article appears to be an attempt on the similar lines where the author has used statistics of convenience to push the agenda in the favour of foreign vaccines using reputed platforms, shrouding the big Pharma's agendas in an academic language in its search for legitimizing its agendas," EUreporter noted.

Medical journal Lancet launched a scathing attack against the Indian government and defined the second Covid wave in India as a "self-inflicted national catastrophe".

"Hospitals are overwhelmed, and health workers are exhausted and becoming infected. Social media is full of desperate people (doctors and the public) seeking medical oxygen, hospital beds, and other necessities," the Lancet wrote.

Reacting to this report, the Eureporter said: "The Lancet's latest report, India's COVID-19 emergency, that discusses the Indian government's Covid-19 management is yet another attempt by the Big Pharma lobby to undermine the abilities of a developing country to challenge their monopoly by rolling out vaccines at throwaway prices."

The news website also pointed out that the Lancet report did not suggest the developed countries to defuse the ongoing crisis through collaborations or assistance missions to improve the present situation of India.

The EUreporter also highlighted several instances when the Lancet journal has been used for political propaganda.

On July 23, 2014, The Lancet published An Open Letter for the People of Gaza, accusing Israel of "war crimes", The Eureporter reminded.

"This concern per se is not under the question, but the cherrypicking of certain political issues, while turning a blind eye to various other heinous crimes or state-sponsored campaigns reeks of the politicization that has penetrated the journal, to an extent that it cannot be called as an unbiased research platform, given its proclivity to politicise such issues," it added.

( With inputs from ANI )