ICMR to launch COVAXIN on August 15

On July 2, 2020, Indian Council of Medical Research announced that it is to launch COVAXIN, India’s first COVID-19 vaccine by August 15.

Highlights

There are 12 institutes that are conducting the clinical trials of the indigenous vaccine. Currently India has two indigenous manufacturers that are approved to conduct clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine. They are Bharat Biotech International Limited and Zydus Cadila.

12 institutes

The 12 institutes that are selected to conduct the clinical trials are located in Nagpur, Delhi, Hyderabad, Patna, Gorakpur, Belgaum, Goa, Kanpur, Arya Nagar, Kattankulathur, Bhubaneswar.

About the Vaccines

Earlier this week, the Drug Controller General of India approved human clinical trials of COVAXIN and also the vaccine developed by Zydus Cadila.

COVAXIN was developed from the SAR-COV2 virus strain that was isolated from NIV, Pune. The vaccine was jointly developed by ICMR, NIV and Bharat Biotech. It was developed by inactivating the virus strain. COVAXIN was developed in a containment facility of Bharat Biotech with Biosafety Level-3.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2020