Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 5: A Corona vaccine may become available in India soon, at least much earlier than originally expected. With the last stage trial of the vaccine beginning his month, it may be launched in the market by February or latest by March.
The “good news” being eagerly awaited by the people in the country, as well as the world, was shared by a senior scientist of the Indian Council of Scientific Research (ICMR) with a section of the media on Thursday.
The studies made of the vaccine during the earlier stages of trials have shown that it is safe and effective. And unless the final stage trials give results on the contrary, there is every possibility that the vaccine will hit the market by February.
“The vaccine has shown good efficacy,” senior ICMR scientist Rajni Kant, who is also a member of its COVID-19 task-force, said. “It is expected that by the beginning of next year, February or March, something would be available.”
Bharat Biotech, a private company that is developing COVAXIN in collaboration with the central government body of ICMR, had earlier hoped to launch it only in the second quarter of next year. If go by the present schedule and launched by February, COVAXIN will become the first India-made vaccine to be rolled out.
India’s cases of Corona infection rose by 50,201 cases on Thursday to 8.36 million, second only to the United States. Deaths rose by 704, with the total now at 124,315. The daily rise in infections and deaths has slowed since a peak in mid-September.
Kant, who is the head of ICMR’s research management, policy, planning and coordination cell, said it was up to the health ministry to decide if COVAXIN shots can be given to people even before the third-stage trials were over.
“It has shown safety and efficacy in the phase 1 and 2 trials and in the animal studies – so it is safe but you can’t be 100% sure unless the phase 3 trials are over,” Kant said.
“There may be some risk, if you are ready to take the risk, you can take the vaccine. If necessary, the government can think of giving the vaccine in an emergency situation.”
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in September the government was considering granting an emergency authorisation for a COVID-19 vaccine, particularly for the elderly and people in high-risk workplaces.
Several leading vaccine candidates are already in final-stage testing. An experimental vaccine developed by Britain’s AstraZeneca is among the most advanced ones, and Britain expects to roll it out in late December or early 2021.
AstraZeneca has signed several supply and manufacturing deals with companies and governments around the world, including with the Serum Institute of India.
About half-a-dozen pharmaceutical companies world over are also working on various vaccines and are at different stages of trial an may still take six to 12 months to compete critical trials but COVAXIN is among the few expected to hit the market within the time frame.
