November 29, 2020 4:43:29 am
Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives briefing during a visit to the Bharat Biotech facility to review the development of Covaxin, indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Covaxin, outside Hyderabad, Saturday, November 28, 2020 (PTI Photo ).
Shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to its facilities in Pune, the Serum Institute of India (SII) said on Saturday that it hoped to obtain an emergency use license within the next two weeks for the Covid-19 vaccine that have. been testing on Indian volunteers.
In addition to SII, Modi also visited the vaccine development facilities of Zydus Cadila in Ahmedabad and Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad. Both companies are testing a vaccine that they have developed indigenously.
IBS, on the other hand, has been testing a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. Serum has the rights to manufacture and distribute this vaccine in India and other low and middle income countries. This vaccine is also being tested in other countries.
Earlier this week, the results of one of his trials had fallen under a cloud of ‘errors’ in reporting the correct dose of the vaccine, but IBS Executive Director Adar Poonawalla said the “confusion “affect the destination of the vaccine in India. , or even in other countries. Poonawalla ruled out further testing of the vaccine in light of this “mistake.”
Read | PM Modi impressed with IBS facilities, wants vaccine to come out ASAP: Cyrus Poonawalla
“There was a bit of confusion in the communication, which will be explained in the next few days. But that will not affect the emergency use license for the vaccine in the UK, and it should not affect that in India at all, “he said, adding:” We are in the process of applying for an emergency use license in India. in the next two weeks. “
The IBS has yet to announce the results of its combined Phase 2 and Phase 3 vaccine testing. He had previously said that this could be expected sometime in December.
India’s drug regulator may grant an emergency use license if it is satisfied, even from preliminary results, that the vaccine is effective in preventing the disease. A full authorization can be granted only after completion of the trials and evaluation of the data generated from them.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said that Modi, during his visit to the vaccine facilities, emphasized that India viewed these vaccines “not only as vital to good health but also as a global good” and that it was “the duty from India to help other countries, including nations in our neighborhood, in the collective fight against the virus. “
“The Prime Minister expressed pride in the fact that indigenous vaccine development in India has progressed at such a rapid rate so far. He spoke about how India is following sound principles of science throughout the vaccine development journey, while asking for suggestions to improve the vaccine distribution process, “the statement said.
Adar Poonawalla from SII, speaking at a virtual press conference after Modi’s visit, said it was important that all necessary information about vaccine development be published in a transparent way, so that people have confidence in vaccines.
“In these times of vaccinations, we must send the right messages and not create doubts in people’s minds,” he said. He stressed that the Oxford University vaccine was “good” and effective against the disease.
“There were no hospitalizations among those who took the vaccine (during the trials)… The vaccine can be transported at normal refrigerator temperatures, unlike some of the other candidates that require extreme cold storage,” he said.
Poonawalla said he expected the Indian government to purchase between 300 and 400 million doses of this vaccine in the next six months. “At present, we have nothing in writing from the government on how many doses will be purchased, but there are indications from the Ministry of Health that it would be in the range of 300 to 400 million doses by July 2021,” he said. .
With input from Avinash Nair in Ahmedabad and Sreenivas Janyala in Hyderabad
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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