By: Sunil Kumar
August 7 2020
The vaccine development is in the Phase II stage. We cannot predict if it will be available by the end of August 2020.
Claim ID 1aa52f35
The vaccine development is in the Phase II stage. We cannot predict if it will be available by the end of August 2020.There is a rush for the development of an effective vaccine for coronavirus in India. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had set a deadline of August 15 to launch the vaccine in India. Covaxin, being developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, has completed phase-1 human trials and begun phase-2. Another Indian vaccine developed by Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila has also embarked on phase-2 studies. It is a critical stage of vaccine development since makers usually study the actual safety and other protocols during the study where a larger pool of candidates are involved. Meanwhile, Oxford University has also started phase II/III testing in centers across India, in partnership with Pune based Serum Institute of India (SII). The crucial advanced phase III testing is yet to begin, and hence it will be premature to say that the vaccine launch will happen by this month-end in India.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.