COVID VACCINE

There are reports that vaccine for Covid 19 are getting ready in different countries.

Oxford vaccine

The first set of results from early stage clinical trials of the Oxford University Covid 19 show it is safe and induces immune reaction. The results from Oxford were followed by Indian vaccine manufacture Serum Institute announcing it would seek regulatory approvals for clinical trials in India and soon start manufacturing the vaccine in large volumes.

Indian vaccine

Human dosing of the vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech India in collaboration with ICMR's National Institute of Virology also started with the vaccine being given to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna and Pandit Bhagawat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical at Rohtak in Haryana. AIIMS Delhi is among the 12 sites selected by the ICMR for conducting phase I and II human trials of Covaxin. In phase I, the vaccine would be tested on 375 volunteers and a maximum of 100 of them would be from AIIMS.

US vaccine

The US government is choosing three vaccine candidates to fund for phase III trials under Operation Warp Speed: Moderna's mRNA-1273 in July, The University of Oxford and AstraZeneca's AZD1222 in August, and Pfizer and BioNTech's BNT162 in September. Members of ACTIV have suggested developing safe controlled human infection models (CHIMs) for human trials could take 1-2 years. A sponsor would need to provide data from placebo-controlled trials indicating their vaccine is atleast 50% effective against Covid 19 in order to be authorised for use, according to FDA guidance issued and effective 30 June.

Russian vaccine

Russia claims it's coronavirus vaccine is ready for use. A Covid 19 vaccine developed with the Russian Defense Ministry completed Phase II trials, leading First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov to say the first domestic inoculation is ready for use. Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is cooperating with Indian partners to share the most advanced practices to combat coronavirus, we have been in touch through the whole coronavirus period. We are open to producing the vaccine by Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology in India and are currently discussing such a possibility with a number of Indian partners.

Availability

It is to note that the Russian Covid 19 vaccine has recently cleared it's first stage of clinical trials which started on June 18 and has entered the second stage. Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that before the third phase of the clinical trial is over, the vaccine will be made available in the market, a report by Sputnik News said.

At least seven Indian pharma companies are working to develop a vaccine to check the spread of the deadly virus that has already infected more than 14 million globally. Scientists are hoping to develop a coronavirus vaccine within months because of the pandemic. India is one of the largest vaccine producers in the world.

Price

According to Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India, the cost will be kept under Rs 1,000/- per dose.

KV George

kvgeorgein@gmail.com