The vaccine for COVID-19 might be ready by as early as December this year
Bengaluru: There is light at the end of the tunnel as the vaccine for COVID-19 may be ready by as early as December, Times of India reports.
The vaccine is being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
If the government decides to opt for “emergency authorisation” it could see the light of day the end of this year, or else, by January next.
The vaccine is also being produced by India's Serum Institute.
The website quoted Adar Poonawalla, chief of the Pune-based company, as saying, “If we don’t go for an emergency licence, our trials should be over by December and then we can maybe launch in India in January subject to the UK trial also being completed which it’s on the verge of being completed”.
He also added, “If the UK, in the next two weeks, were to unblind their study and share the data and be confident that it’s safe, then we can, after two-three weeks, apply to the Indian regulator to look at a possible emergency licence if that’s what the government of India wants.”
On the review part, he said, “That review could take about two-three weeks, and then you can have a vaccine by December but all these would have to happen and I don’t want to venture a guess whether that would happen or not happen because it’s not my place to do so, that’s for the health ministry officials to decide”.
Elaborating on the general availability of the vaccine, he said, “We are aiming for 100 million available doses at first. This should be available by Q2-Q3 of 2021.”
As reported by various television channels, the priority plan for distributing the vaccine is already in place.
Doctors, public health workers, army and community workers will be the first priority as and when the vaccine is released for administration.
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