PMO confirms big reason why coronavirus vaccine in India cannot be delayed

Vaccines against the coronavirus are being tested in India and also in other countries. However, some recent global studies on mutations in the virus have raised concerns about their impact on the efficacy of vaccines. However, in a recent announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Center said that there is no major mutation in the viral strain in India, implying that the development of the vaccine and its efficiency will not be affected.

According to the statement, the country’s main clinical body, the ICMR and the Department of Biotechnology, have carried out two studies on the SARSCoV-2 genome with respect to the mutation of the virus.

“Two studies across India suggest that the virus is genetically stable and there is no major mutation in the virus,” PMO said. It should be noted that when a virus replicates, there may be some changes in the new strains that have formed. This is known as a mutation. Therefore, any vaccine developed for it will have to watch for the possibility of mutation.

The statement came after a review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the delivery of vaccines and their preparation for distribution and administration. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also made a statement regarding the same saying that there have been no significant or drastic mutations in the Coronavirus strains in India so far. According to him, ICMR has been working on carrying out large-scale sequencing of strains that have been identified in India for the past few months. The council will be ready soon with detailed results on viral mutations. The Health Minister also emphasized that small changes will not be able to affect the development of COVID-19 vaccines.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office also noted that three vaccines in India have reached advanced stages of development. Of these, two are already in the second phase of human clinical trials and the third is in the third phase. Additionally, the PMO said that PM Modi has emphasized that “every step in logistics, delivery and administration must be rigorously implemented. It should include advanced planning of cold storage chains, distribution network, monitoring mechanism, advance evaluation and preparation of the required auxiliary equipment, such as veils, syringes ”.