WILL INDIA GET COVID-19 VACCINE SOONER? ICMR, GOVT CONSIDER EMERGENCY AUTHORISATION OF VACCINE – REPORT

Indian vaccine candidates are actively being worked upon and the country is leaving no stones unturned in order to help develop the vaccine. On Independence Day, last week, PM Modi had also vouched for the same. However, the country is now in talks for emergency authorisation of vaccine candidates.

"I want to tell people, the talent of our scientists is like that of 'rishi munis' and they are working very hard in laboratories. Three vaccines are in various stages of testing. When scientists will give us the green signal, it will be produced on a mass scale and all preparations have been made for it," Modi said while addressing the nation. In accordance to it, two indigenous vaccine candidates have almost completed Phase II of clinical trials.

Covaxin and ZyCOV-D are the two which are expected to be safe and effective for use. However, according to a report in PTI a top ICMR official has spoken to a parliamentary panel on Wednesday that these two vaccines which have currently completed Phase II can be made available for use soon if the centre considers emergency authorisation.

Normally the final stage of clinical trials will take over six to nine months before being proven safe and completely effective to fight the novel coronavirus infection. The final stage is also likely to be performed on thousands so that the possible side effects can be monitored in different age groups, if any. Answering the ICMR official’s query, the MP said that the centre will consider emergency authorisation.

Meanwhile, the vaccine developed by Oxford has almost completed phase II and is most likely to begin the final stage testing. For the same, 17 sites in India have been finalised and thousands of volunteers have also been chosen. The first dosage will be given on day one and the second one will be given on day 29. The volunteers will be monitored closely, according to the Serum Institute of India.