India’s COVAXIN could be out earlier than expected: ICMR Scientist

Days after the announcement of having a safe and effective vaccine during its Phase 1 and 2 trials in the country, COVAXIN, India’s first indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate could be available sooner than projected earlier.  

Mr. Rajni Kant, a senior scientist at the government-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) expressed his hope that the Bharat Biotech developed vaccine could be available as early as February 2021 than the earlier expected timeline of the second quarter in 2021.

A member of India’s COVID-19 task-force, Mr. Rajni Kant observed that “The vaccine has shown good efficacy. It is expected that by the beginning of next year, February or March, something would be available.”

The Hyderabad-based pharma firm Bharat Biotech which developed the inactivated intramuscular vaccine in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV) refrained from making any comments on the timeline.

Sharing his thoughts about the urge to roll out the safety and efficacy proven vaccine, Mr.  Kant stated that “It has shown safety and efficacy in phase 1 and 2 trials and in the animal studies – so it is safe but you can’t be 100% sure unless the phase 3 trials are over.”

“There may be some risk, if you are ready to take the risk, you can take the vaccine. If necessary, the government can think of giving the vaccine in an emergency situation.”

Earlier in September, Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan remarked that the government was considering granting an emergency authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine, particularly for the elderly and people in high-risk workplaces.

There are several leading vaccine candidates which are going through their final-stage trials in India.

The AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine candidate widely referred to as the “Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine” is among the most advanced in the on-going trials which an expected timeline of late December or early 2021 rollout.

Moderna Inc, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson are other leading vaccine developers who are fast approaching the conclusion of their last-stage trials.