Updated: December 13, 2020 3:29:42 pm
The executive director of the Serum Institute, Adar Poonawalla. (File photo)
Serum Institute of India (SII) Executive Director Adar Poonawalla said the Covid-19 vaccination campaign would likely begin in India in January as his company, which is testing and manufacturing the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, expected obtain emergency use authorization at the end of the month.
Speaking at The Economic Times Global Business Summit, Adar Poonawalla said that he hoped everyone in India would be vaccinated by October 2021, after which normal life could return.
“At the end of the month, we could get an emergency license [for the coronavirus vaccine], but the actual license for wider use could come at a later date. But we are confident that if the regulators give their approval, India’s vaccination campaign can start in January 2021, “said Adar Poonawalla.
“Once 20% of India receives the coronavirus vaccine, we can see the confidence and feelings return, and by September-October next year, hopefully, there will be enough vaccines for everyone and normal life can return. “said the head of the SII.
Last week, the Subject Matter Expert Committee (SEC), which is examining applications from three companies for the authorization of emergency use of their Covid-19 vaccines in India, requested the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech Additional safety information and efficacy data from its ongoing clinical trials.
According to the minutes of the SEC meeting, the IBS was specifically asked to submit safety data from phase 2/3 clinical trials in India of its candidate vaccine Covishield, developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca; immunogenicity data from clinical trial in the UK and India; as well as the result of the UK regulatory authority’s assessment of your emergency use authorization request. The expert committee noted that IBS has only “submitted safety data up to November 14” and that their study’s principal investigator, Dr. Sushant Meshram, who is involved in the trials, did not attend the meeting.
Interim Results of Oxford Covid-19 Vaccine Trials, published in The Lancet, shows that the vaccine protects against symptomatic disease in 70 percent of cases, with a vaccine efficacy of 62 percent for those who receive two full doses, and 90 percent for those who they get half, and then a full dose. dose.
The Oxford vaccine uses a chimpanzee adenovirus viral vector that cannot cause disease in humans and expresses the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This means that the vaccine delivers the genetic code for the spike protein into the cells of vaccinated people, which then produce the protein, teaching the immune system to recognize and attack the virus.
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