The COVID-19 outbreak has killed millions and devastated lives of billions. After the trials and regulatory approvals, the vaccine against novel coronavirus is expected to be available in India by January 2021, if its proven as immunogenic and efficacious.
The COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University and British firm AstraZeneca may be available in India by January 2021, said the chief executive of Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) Adar Poonawalla."So far, thousands of people have had it in India and abroad with no safety concerns," he added.
The vaccine, denominated as COVISHIELD for Indian market, is now under Phase 2 and 3 trials in the country.
Indegene pharma company Bharat Biotech is also pondering on introducing their vaccine for COVID-19 later in 2021 if it gets the approvals from the regulatory authorities, according to a company official. The company's vaccine - COVAXIN has been developed in collab with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology (NIV), and is undergoing Phase 3 trials.