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Science Ministry Says COVID Vaccine 'Unlikely Before 2021', Later Retracts Statement
Writer: Navya Singh
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India, 6 July 2020 6:57 AM GMT | Updated 28 July 2020 8:01 AM GMT
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The science ministry's original statement went against the ICMR's deadline to prepare the vaccine for public use by next month. However, the ministry later removed the statement.
The Ministry of Science and Technology on Saturday, July 4, said that it was "unlikely" that vaccines that have begun human trials will be ready for public use before 2021. However, the ministry soon revised its statement and dropped the claim it made earlier.
The statement by the ministry came days after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) wrote to a dozen medical institutes, asking them to prepare the country's indigenous vaccine, Covaxin, for public health use by 15 August 2020. The letter also drew massive flak for its "unscientific" approach to clinical trials for vaccines. Several experts called the deadline to release the vaccine 'impossible'.
Responding to the criticism, ICMR later said it was meant to "cut unnecessary red tape" and "speed up recruitment of participants".
The science ministry's statement, written by scientist Dr T.V. Venkateswaran, initially read: "Along with the two Indian vaccines, COVAXIN and ZyCov-D, the world over, 11 out of 140 vaccine candidates have entered the human trials. None of these vaccines is unlikely to be ready for mass use by 2021 [sic]."
The science ministry's original statement went against the ICMR's deadline to prepare the vaccine for public use by next month. However, the ministry later removed the statement.
In the original copy, Venkateswaran notes, "Now with the nod given by the Drug Controller General of India CDSCO (The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) for the conduct of the human trial, it will take anywhere between fifteen to eighteen months before licence are issued for the vaccines. Nonetheless this marks the beginning of the end."
Vaccines usually take years to develop, with each phase taking several months of study and examination.
The first phase ensures safety, while the second and third phases ensure safety and efficacy using larger sample sizes. Only after a vaccine passes all the three phases successfully can it be released for public use.
Also Read: 106-Yr-Old Delhi Man Who Survived 1918 Spanish Flu, Beats COVID-19
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