Check vaccine rumours; take penal motion in opposition to these indulging in such acts: MHA tells states

The Centre has requested states to take penal motion in opposition to these “spreading rumours” in regards to the efficacy of Coronavirus vaccines — Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, and Covaxin, developed and manufactured by the Bharat Biotech Limited — at the moment being administered in India.
In a letter despatched to all states and union territories final week, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has stated that states should come out with a mechanism to take care of such misinformation and take penal motion underneath Disaster Management Act and the Indian Penal Code in opposition to these spreading rumours in regards to the effectiveness of Covaxin and Covishield vaccines.
“I would like to strongly emphasize that the National Regulatory Authority in the country has found both the vaccines safe and immunogenic. However, it has been reported that unfounded and misleading rumours are circulating, in social and other media, creating doubt about the safety and efficacy of these vaccines. Such kind of rumour mongering, particularity by vested interests, can create unwarranted doubts among people at large, and there is, therefore, a need to check all such kinds of unfounded scare-mongering related to the efficacy and immunogenicity of the vaccines,” Bhalla has stated in his letter.
The authorities has launched the inoculation drive of COVID-19 vaccination from January 16 onwards throughout the nation. However, there was plenty of debate in regards to the security and efficacy of the vaccines each in social and mainstream media.

Stressing that the federal government is taking all mandatory steps to make sure that the vaccination drive is profitable and “the pandemic is eventually eradicated”, Bhalla’s letter stated, “I would urge you (states) to put in place an appropriate mechanism to check the spread of such ill-informed rumours, and direct all the concerned authorities under the State Government to take appropriate necessary measures to counter the spread of all such kind of false information about the COVID-19 vaccines as well as promptly disseminate factual messages. Further, penal action may be taken against the person/s of organization/s, who is/are found to have indulged in such activities, under the relevant provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Indian Penal Code, 1860.”