Stern Union Health Minister Vardhan is overseeing the trial in New Delhi.
New Delhi:
There should be no misconceptions about the safety of the coronavirus vaccine India plans to use as “everything has been verified in detail,” Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said today, even as it was conducted. an all-state trial to determine which path to mass inoculation and to fill gaps in logistics and training.
The one-day unit tests the Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN), a digital platform to implement and scale the vaccination campaign.
“There should be no rumors about the safety of the vaccine … Everything has been verified in detail. Initially, when the polio vaccine was released, even then, the rumors had floated. But once it hit the ground, all the people were safe, “he said in New Delhi while reviewing the progress of the unit.
Assuring everyone of its effectiveness, Dr. Harsh Vardhan compared it to the polio vaccination campaign that India had launched decades ago. “Everything is being done (in the campaign), except the presence of a real vaccine,” he said.
Today’s exercise is India’s second – the first was held on December 28 and 29 in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat. The guidelines were revised based on comments received from the previous campaign, according to the union minister.
The massive exercise comes a day after Covishield, the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and major pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, was recommended for approval by India’s drug regulator. The recommendation was made by a panel of experts on the subject created by the central government.
India’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign will start anytime once a vaccine is approved by the regulator, the Comptroller General of Medicines of India. In addition to Covishield, India has also pinned its hopes on Covaxin, developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, in association with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).
.
