Covid-19 vaccines under different trial stages in India: Harsh Vardhan
Currently, two indigenously-developed vaccine candidates are in phase 2 of the human clinical trials in IndiaHarsh Vardhan also said that India is looking at the availability of several different types of vaccines
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday informed that coronavirus vaccines currently are in various trial phases. and their results are awaited. The Union Health Minister was interacting with his social media followers on the fifth episode 'Sunday Samvaad' platform.
Vardhan explained that the phase-1 trials for vaccines are done primarily to establish the safety of the product while the phase 2 clinical trial measures immunogenicity as a primary endpoint and safety as a secondary endpoint.
In phase-3 clinical trials, both safety and immunogenicity continue to be measured as secondary endpoints, efficacy being the primary endpoint for this phase of a clinical trial.
Currently, two indigenously-developed vaccine candidates, one by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR and the other by Zydus Cadila Ltd, are in phase 2 of the human clinical trials.
Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which has partnered with AstraZeneca for manufacturing the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine candidate also, is conducting phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of the candidate in India.
The minister had earlier said that a Covid-19 vaccine is likely to be available by the first quarter of 2021.
“In a huge country like India, it is critical to prioritise vaccine delivery based on various factors such as the risk of exposure, comorbidity among various population groups, the mortality rate among COVID-19 cases, and several others," the minister said.
He also added that India is looking at the availability of several different types of vaccines, of which some may be suitable for a particular age group while others may not be so.
Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 tally of cases raced past 70 lakh, 13 days after it had crossed the 60-lakh mark, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 60 lakh, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.
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