In the hunt for the COVID-19 vaccine, Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN gets approval for human trials that are expected to begin in July.
India is a densely populated country with more than 1.3 billion people, of whom an estimated 6 million are infected with Coronavirus. In these times, Bharat Biotech developed COVAXIN and got a nod for human trials, according to the Drug Controller General of India.
The Drug Controller General of India approved the clinical trials of Covaxin in two sessions; Phase I and Phase II. The authorities assure the testing with safety and immune response development. The vaccine has been developed by the collaboration of Bharat Biotech in conjunction with the National Institute of Virology and Indian Council of Medical Research.
The National Institute of Virology isolated the inactive vaccine from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 and was transferred to the BSL-3 High Containment facility (Hyderabad). The managing director, Suchitra Ella said,
“Our ongoing research and expertise in forecasting epidemics have enabled us to manufacture a vaccine for the pandemic successfully.”
India is among the top 5 countries with most reported cases, and the Federal Ministry of Health said almost 20, 000 cases this Monday. The first infection in India was reported in January, and 17,000 have died to date. The hospitals in the country are finding it difficult to control the abrupt rise in cases.
According to the Health Ministry, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana are under partial or complete lock down as they are the hotspots for about 85 % of the active cases.
