Chumoukedima, Nagaland, May 2 (HBTV): After the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca admitted a side-effect to its Covid-19 vaccine Covishield, the photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been removed from the CoWIN certificates for COVID-19 vaccinations.    

The Union Health Ministry has updated the CoWIN certificates for COVID-19 vaccinations by removing Modi's image.

These certificates prominently displayed Modi's image along with a quote asserting India's united determination to overcome the Coronavirus pandemic.           

While the quote, “Together, India will defeat COVID-19,” remains credited to the prime minister, his name has been removed from the certificates, according to a report by The Hindu.

There are discussions surrounding Covishield, the vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca, following the company's acknowledgement in a UK court that the vaccine has a potential link to Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome or TTS, a rare side effect involving blood clotting.             

An application was moved in the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday, May 1, seeking to issue directives to form a medical expert panel to examine the Covishield vaccine’s side effects.

The plea has been moved by advocate Vishal Tiwari, who also urged the court to issue directives to the Centre to establish a vaccine damage payment system for the citizens who became severely disabled as a result of a vaccination drive during the COVID 19 pandemic. 

In the plea, advocate Vishal Tiwari sought directives to constitute a medical expert panel comprising medical experts from the All India Institute of Medical Science, Delhi headed by its director and supervised by the retired justice of the Supreme Court of India, to examine the Covishield vaccine’s side effects and its risk factors.