New Delhi:
A trial of the Covid vaccine will take place in all states on Saturday, January 2, the government said when authorities hinted that approval of a vaccine could be just around the corner. Today, the Union Secretary of Health chaired a high-level meeting with all states and Territories of the Union. This is the second test carried out in the country; the first was held on December 28 and 29 in four states and went smoothly, the Health Ministry said.
The test will take place at select locations in each state, the sources said. The process, in which participants receive fake Covid vaccines, is meant to test the mechanisms and reveal potential gaps in the system before the actual vaccination campaign.
On Tuesday, the Health Ministry said the two-day drill showed India is ready to start inoculation. “The four participating states are satisfied with the systems in place for the COVID-19 vaccination process,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
The nationwide trial comes amid anticipation of a vaccine launch in the New Year. Today, the country’s Comptroller General of Drugs, Dr. VG Somani, said: “We will probably have a new year with something on our hands.”
The assurance came ahead of a crucial expert panel meeting on the authorization of emergency-use vaccines scheduled for tomorrow. The panel is examining applications from three companies: the Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Pfizer.
Of these, the ‘Covishield’, developed by the University of Oxford and the main pharmaceutical AstraZeneca, which is being manufactured by the Serum Institute is considered one of the pioneers.
Pfizer has yet to submit its data to the regulator and the indigenous applicant, Bharat Biotech, which is partnering with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for its ‘Covaxin’, has not completed recruitment for its Phase 3 trial.
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