NEW DELHI (AP) – India on Saturday tested its COVID-19 vaccine system with a nationwide trial as it prepares to launch a vaccination program to stem the coronavirus pandemic.
The trial included entering data into an online vaccine monitoring monitoring platform, as well as testing cold storage and transportation arrangements for the vaccine, the health ministry said in a statement.
The major exercise was followed by India’s drug regulator recommending a two-vaccine emergency for COVID-19 – one developed by the University of Oxford and drugmaker AstraZeneca in the UK, and another by Indian manufacturer Bharat Biotech. .
Both vaccines will now have to wait for the final approval of the Indian regulator.
Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing company, has been contracted by AstraZeneca to make 1 billion doses for developing countries, including India. On Wednesday, Britain became the first to approve the shot.
The vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech is based on an inactivated form of the coronavirus. It is made in collaboration with agencies of the Indian government. Early clinical studies have shown that the vaccine has no serious side effects and produces antibodies to COVID-19. The company said in November that it was starting late clinical trials.
The government plans to vaccinate 300 million people in the first phase of the vaccination program, which includes health care and frontline workers, police and military troops and those over 50 years of age.
The government is expected to initially rely on the vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, which does not require the ultra-cold storage facilities that some others do. Instead, it can be stored in refrigerators. This makes it a viable candidate, not only for India but also for other developing countries.
Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday reviewed the readiness for the vaccinations at a state hospital in New Delhi and urged the public not to heed rumors against vaccine. “We will not enter into any protocol until we approve a vaccine,” he told reporters.
Pooja Moriya, a health worker in the capital who is one of the first to be vaccinated, said hospital staff had already had several meetings about the vaccine and how it works. “Our seniors told us not to be afraid at all,” Moriya said.
India has confirmed more than 10.3 million cases of coronavirus, second in the world behind the US. More than 149,000 people have died from the virus in India.