NEW DELHI: India may start vaccinating people against Covid-19 in January and the government’s first priority has been the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.
“Personally, I think it can be in January at any stage or any week, there may be a time when we can be in a position to give the first Covid vaccine to the people of India,” Harsh Vardhan told ANI in an interview exclusive.
Asked about India’s vaccination campaign against coronavirus.
The minister said that the vaccines that have requested authorization for emergency use are being analyzed by the regulator.
“India is no less than any other country when it comes to Covid-19 research and vaccine. Our first priority has been the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. We don’t want anyone to understand that. Our regulators are scrutinizing them with seriousness”. he said.
The minister had said on Saturday that the country’s scientists and health experts have worked on the development of a native vaccine and that in the next six to seven months India will have the capacity to inoculate some 30 million people.
“Our scientists and health experts have worked on the development of a vaccine by sequencing the genome and isolating the coronavirus and have developed a native vaccine. In 6-7 months, we will have the capacity to inoculate about 30 million people.” , had said when addressing the 22nd meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Covid-19.
There are six Covid-19 vaccine candidates in different stages of clinical trials in India, including Covishield, Covaxin, ZyCoV-D, Sputnik V, NVX-CoV2373, and a recombinant protein antigen-based vaccine. In addition to this, three candidates for the Covid-19 vaccine are in the preclinical stage of which one of the candidates for the coronavirus vaccine is in the pre-development stage that is being investigated by Aurobindo Pharma, said the secretary of Union Health, Rajesh Bhushan.
“Six vaccines are in the clinical trial stage. And there are three vaccines in the preclinical stage. Some of them may be licensed in the next few weeks, but we cannot predict at this time because the license is the domain of the national regulator.” the Comptroller General of Drugs of India, “Bhushan had said at a press conference.
“These vaccines are two to three doses. Even after vaccination, Covid-19 precautions should be followed as recommended by scientists,” he noted.
Referring to Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), he said that it is in phase 3 trials and is on an inactivated virus platform. The manufacturers have applied for an emergency use authorization. (AND ME)
Earlier this month, the UK became the first country in the world to authorize the use of Pfizer and BioNTech for emergency purposes.
“Personally, I think it can be in January at any stage or any week, there may be a time when we can be in a position to give the first Covid vaccine to the people of India,” Harsh Vardhan told ANI in an interview exclusive.
Asked about India’s vaccination campaign against coronavirus.
The minister said that the vaccines that have requested authorization for emergency use are being analyzed by the regulator.
“India is no less than any other country when it comes to Covid-19 research and vaccine. Our first priority has been the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. We don’t want anyone to understand that. Our regulators are scrutinizing them with seriousness”. he said.
The minister had said on Saturday that the country’s scientists and health experts have worked on the development of a native vaccine and that in the next six to seven months India will have the capacity to inoculate some 30 million people.
“Our scientists and health experts have worked on the development of a vaccine by sequencing the genome and isolating the coronavirus and have developed a native vaccine. In 6-7 months, we will have the capacity to inoculate about 30 million people.” , had said when addressing the 22nd meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Covid-19.
There are six Covid-19 vaccine candidates in different stages of clinical trials in India, including Covishield, Covaxin, ZyCoV-D, Sputnik V, NVX-CoV2373, and a recombinant protein antigen-based vaccine. In addition to this, three candidates for the Covid-19 vaccine are in the preclinical stage of which one of the candidates for the coronavirus vaccine is in the pre-development stage that is being investigated by Aurobindo Pharma, said the secretary of Union Health, Rajesh Bhushan.
“Six vaccines are in the clinical trial stage. And there are three vaccines in the preclinical stage. Some of them may be licensed in the next few weeks, but we cannot predict at this time because the license is the domain of the national regulator.” the Comptroller General of Drugs of India, “Bhushan had said at a press conference.
“These vaccines are two to three doses. Even after vaccination, Covid-19 precautions should be followed as recommended by scientists,” he noted.
Referring to Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), he said that it is in phase 3 trials and is on an inactivated virus platform. The manufacturers have applied for an emergency use authorization. (AND ME)
Earlier this month, the UK became the first country in the world to authorize the use of Pfizer and BioNTech for emergency purposes.
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