New Delhi: Is India going the Russian way in producing the COVID-19 vaccine. Well if the director general of Indian Council of Medical Research is to be believed it may say. Balram Bhragava (DG, ICMR) had some important information to offer to a parliamentary panel Thursday. Balram Bhargava said that phase-two clinical trials of two indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine candidates have almost been completed. Emergency authorisation of a vaccine could be considered if the Centre decides so.
Bhargava had an interaction with the members of the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs Thursday. He said the vaccine candidates developed by ‘Bharat Biotech’, ‘Zydus Cadila’ and the ‘Serum Institute of India’ are at different stages of trials. This information was shared by an MP present in the meeting.
The COVID-19 vaccine candidates coordinated by ‘Bharat Biotech’ and ‘Zydus Cadila’ are nearing completion of phase-two trails. Serum Institute on the other has said that the vaccine will not be ready till the year-end. The vaccine of Serum Institute is being developed by Oxford University. It will enter phase-2 (b) trials this weekend for which 1,700 patients have been identified at 17 centres across India, the MP said.
According to MPs who attended the meeting, when asked how long people will have to live with the pandemic, Bhargava had an answer. He replied that normally the final trial of any vaccine takes about six to nine months. However, if the government decides, an emergency authorisation could be considered.
Bhargava also responded to various queries by the panel about the saliva test cleared by FDA in the US. This test is being done for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2. Bhargava informed that taking samples from gargled water is already under consideration and further details will be available soon.
Members of the parliamentary committee cutting across party lines complemented the ICMR in particular and the medical fraternity. They were lauded for their committed role in fighting the pandemic.
About the mental stress among the people due to the pandemic, ICMR agreed to the panel members’ suggestion of reviewing the existing limited set of guidelines relating to the management of psychological stress.
ICMR also told the committee that it may soon come out with comprehensive revised guidelines. This will help all concerned to cope with the stress caused by the outbreak of the viral disease.
The meeting was chaired by senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma. It lasted for over four hours and discussed various aspects of management of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of the pandemic on the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector was also discussed.
Agencies