PM goes on Covid-19 vaccine trail, review top 3 contenders
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today personally reviewed the vaccine development and manufacturing process at three of the facilities in Ahmedabad, Pune and Hyderabad. The visit was aimed getting a first-hand perspective of the preparations, challenges and roadmap in India’s endeavour to vaccinate its citizens.
FollowPrime Minister Narendra Modi today personally reviewed the vaccine development and manufacturing process at three of the facilities in Ahmedabad, Pune and Hyderabad.
The visit, getting a first-hand perspective of the preparations, challenges and roadmap in India’s endeavour to vaccinate its citizens, saw the prime minister arriving this morning in Ahmedabad to visit the Zydus Biotech Park.
There, the Prime Minister met the makers of ZyCOV-D, the indigenous DNA-based vaccine being developed by Zydus Cadila. Zydus Cadila's vaccine is currently under phase 2 of human trials. The vaccine is expected to be ready by March 2021.
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In a Tweet, the prime minister said: "Visited the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad to know more about the indigenous DNA based vaccine being developed by Zydus Cadila. I compliment the team behind this effort for their work. Government of India is actively working with them to support them in this journey."
The prime minister's next stop was Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech which has commenced phase III of its Covaxin vaccine.
According to recent reports, the company said that they aim at least 60 per cent efficacy for the vaccine, after which it is expected to be rolled out mid of 2021.
Later in the day, Prime minister Modi reviewed the progress of Serum Institute of India's Covishield. The Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine -- known as Covishield in India -- has shown 70 per cent efficacy in its interim analysis.
Adar Poonawala, the CEO of SII, said that Covishield should be ready by the end of December, this year. They also said that they have already produced about 40 million doses of the vaccine and that Indians will get priority when it comes to meeting demands. Poonawala has also reiterated that Covishield vaccine will be available at less than 1000 rupees
