According to the WHO, there are more than 45 independent medical groups that are in contention to launch a new coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible. At least 3 candidate vaccines are in critical stages of development and testing in India, paving the way for faster access to an approved vaccine in the next year.
Many companies that have requested emergency authorization plans, with a strategic deployment for global distribution that is being drawn up.
However, according to a new claim circulating on social media, India has already secured access to a ready COVID-19 vaccine. Have you already come across this statement on the Internet?
A new claim circulating on social media suggests that India already has a ‘Corona’ vaccine available and that all the public has to do to get vaccinated is download an app, register their number and continue vaccination.
The message has also been spread widely on WhatsApp and Facebook, with a link that users must click on.
But it’s true?
Do we have a COVID-19 vaccine ready?
As with everything we read on the internet, any news related to COVID-19 should be read with caution.
Not only is crucial work still being done in developing a COVID-19 vaccine, but there is still no definite day or date that we have been given as to when a vaccine would be made available to the public.
For one thing, vaccine development takes time to work. While most of the promising candidates are in crucial stages of development, it will be a long time before an approved vaccine is released for the billions at risk.
India is seeing accelerated work on four vaccine candidates. While Bharat Biotech-ICMR-backed COVAXIN is in phase III and will apply for new approvals by February 2021, another homegrown vaccine, ZyCOV-D, developed by Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila, is only preparing to enroll. participants for phase III trials. There are no plans for a release, as of now they have been revealed so far.
The other two vaccines in dispute, the Oxford-AstraZeneca (Covishield) vaccine, will only be available in the first quarter of 2021. Phase III trials have yet to conclude. Russia’s Sputnik V, which will be marketed and sold in India, is awaiting clearance to begin phase II / III testing, after which approvals will be met.
As for the other global vaccines being worked on at the moment, authorities are discovering a way to secure dosages for India, which again, will take time to work.
Second, according to epidemiologists and medical authorities, adjusting a vaccination plan for the Indian public may take more than a year to work. We can expect effective vaccination to occur only by 2022.
Regarding the emergency doses that are being prepared for administration, the first priority will be given to health workers across India and the public, for which the authorities are preparing a gradual rollout.
Elsewhere, a vaccination campaign that will protect immunosuppressed people at high risk will take priority. Therefore, there are no plans yet to vaccinate the masses, including healthy people, against COVID-19 at this time.
The same rumor was also recently quashed by the Indian authorities.
In terms of preventing and stopping the spread of the new coronavirus, the only real ‘vaccine’ we have in front of us right now is sanitation and social distancing measures. Wash your hands frequently, keep six feet away, disinfect frequently touched surfaces, and most importantly, wear a mask that will stop the spread of COVID-19.
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