India’s first coronavirus vaccine could be launched by August 15, with the accelerated efforts of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to develop “Covaxin” in partnership with Bharat Biotech International Limited.
A dozen institutes have been selected for clinical trials of the native COVID-19 vaccine (BBV152 COVID vaccine), said the government’s main medical research organization.
The ICMR asked the institutes to step up clinical trials because it is a “priority project” followed at the highest level of government.
“The vaccine is derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 isolated by the ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune. The ICMR and BBIL are working together for the preclinical and clinical development of this vaccine,” said the ICMR in a letter to the institutes.
The ICMR has spoken of its intention to launch the vaccine for public health purposes by August 15, independence day, after all clinical trials have been completed.
The end result will depend on the cooperation of all clinical trial sites involved in this project, the ICMR told the institutes, advising them to speed up approvals related to clinical trials and to ensure that subjects are enrolled. starting this week.
“The non-compliance will be taken very seriously. Therefore, it is advisable to prioritize this project and meet the deadlines without interruption,” said the ICMR letter.
The institutes selected for the clinical trial are in Visakhapatnam, Rohtak, New Delhi, Patna, Belgaum (Karnataka), Nagpur, Gorakhpur, Kattankulathur (Tamil Nadu), Hyderabad, Arya Nagar, Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Goa.
Scientists around the world are rushing to produce a vaccine against the deadly virus that has infected more than 10 million people and killed more than 500,000 people.
