New Delhi: Union health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday tore into Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for questioning the gap between the two doses of Covishield Covid-19 vaccine and said even Aryabhatta and Aristotle would bow in front of Rahul Gandhi for his knowledge. The health minister also said that the agenda of spreading confusion over vaccines will no longer work.

On Tuesday, Reuters quoted three members of the expert panel who reportedly said that extending the gap between two doses of Covishield to 12 to 16 weeks was not a unanimous decision. What was unanimously agreed upon was a gap of 8-12 weeks, as advised by the World Health Organization. The government on Wednesday issued statements dismissing the claim and it also published the minutes of the meeting in which the decision to widen the gap between the two doses. The Centre reiterated that it was a unanimous decision based on scientific evidence.

“We have a very open and transparent system where decisions are taken on a scientific basis. The COVID Working Group took that decision, with no dissenting voice. This issue was then discussed threadbare at an NTAGI meeting, again with no dissenting notes. The recommendation was that the vaccine interval has to be 12 - 16 weeks," Chairman of India's COVID-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) said.

In another statement, the government released the names of the members who were present at the meeting and it includes Dr. Mathew Varghese, Dr. MD Gupte and Dr. JP Muliyil. "Further, it is on record that Dr. Mathew Varghese has denied talking to Reuters on the issue of his alleged dissent," the statement said.