File photo of Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. (Photo: PTI)
Dr Harsh Vardhan also said that the three vaccines in India undergoing trials have been shown to be safe, immunogenic and effective in clinical trials outside of India and should undergo bridging studies to demonstrate their safety and immunogenicity in the Indian population.
- CNN-News18
- Last update: October 4, 2020 3:29 PM IST
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In detailing the roadmap on vaccine procurement and distribution, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan explained the government’s priority and what to expect in the coming months in relation to vaccine development and inoculation of the population. When interacting with social media users during the fourth edition of ‘Sunday Samvaad’, the minister said that the government plans to receive and use 400-500 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine and that of the population of 1.3 billion, 20 -25 crore people would be first shot in July 2021.
IDENTIFICATION OF RISK GROUPS
The government in the process of identifying high-risk groups would require the assistance of states and that is why states must send details of priority population groups by the end of October. The roster of frontline healthcare workers will include physicians, nurses, paramedics, healthcare personnel, ASHA workers, surveillance officers, and many other occupational categories involved in tracking, testing, and treating patients, both government and from the private sector.
MONITORING OF VACCINES AND THE BLACK MARKET
Harsh Vardhan has also indicated that the procurement of vaccines is done centrally and that each shipment will be tracked in real time. The minister assured another respondent that there would be no deviation or black marketing. “The vaccines will be distributed according to the predetermined priority and on a scheduled basis. To ensure transparency and accountability, the details of the entire process will be shared in the coming months. “
THREE VACCINE CANDIDATES IN INDIA
Dr Harsh Vardhan also said that the three vaccines in India that are being tested have been shown to be safe, immunogenic and effective in clinical trials outside of India and should undergo bridging studies to demonstrate their safety and immunogenicity in the population as well. India, although these studies can be done. with a much smaller sample size and they finish quickly.
It is desirable to have a single-dose vaccine, he said. However, it is often difficult to achieve desired levels of immune protection using a single dose. He added that two-dose vaccines are adequate to achieve the desired immunogenicity, as the first dose provides some immune protection and the second increases it even more.
SPUTNIK V?
Regarding the phase 3 clinical trial of Russia’s ‘Sputnik-V’ vaccine in India, Harsh Vardhan clarified that the matter is still under consideration and a decision has not yet been made.
HUMAN CHALLENGE EXPERIMENTS DISMISSED
The minister also ruled out the human challenge experiment. “India does not plan to venture into such trials until the method is shown to have an established benefit based on global experience. India has robust processes in place to ensure that vaccines that successfully complete clinical trials are safe and effective against the novel coronavirus. When conducted, human provocation studies must be conducted with great foresight, caution, and supervision. The value of the information that will be obtained must clearly justify the risks for human beings ”, he added.
Human provocation testing involves exposing volunteers to dangers beyond those posed by the possible side effects of the substance being tested.
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