4 corona vaccines may soon enter clinical trial stage in India: Minister

May 24, 2020
New Delhi (IANS) Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that at least four of the 14 candidate vaccines for novel coronavirus in the country may enter the clinical trial stage very soon.

In a social media interaction with BJP leader G.V.L. Narasimha Rao, the Minister said within five months, four of the vaccine candidates in the country may enter the clinical trial stage.

Rao asked the Health Minister about the status of the development of the vaccines in the country. The Minister said, “The whole world is trying to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. There are over 100 candidate vaccines which are at different levels of development. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is coordinating the efforts. India is also actively contributing in it. There are 14 candidates in India also which are at different levels…” Vardhan said.

He said the Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology is helping the academic world and industry in all manners such as giving regulatory clearances, grants or financial support, among other things. “As far as I know, four of our fourteen vaccines will soon be in the clinical trial stage, within 4 to 5 months. All the 14 are right now at the pre-clinical trial stage.”

However, the Minister cautioned that it is too early to expect any vaccine against the disease because there is a long due procedure involved in its development. “It will take minimum one year for the development of any vaccine even if it is developed earliest. Therefore use social distancing, masks and follow hand and physical hygiene — the biggest safeguard against the disease — till any vaccine or cure is found,” said the Minister.
On a question relating to the role of Tablighi Jamat in spread of corona virus, the Minister said that he feels “pain” to “raise the matter repeatedly”, though he termed the congregation as “irresponsible”.

“Look, the truth is the matter has become old. Enough debates have been conducted over it. I feel pain in raising this matter over and over again,” Harsh Vardhan responded as BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Rao asked: “I want to ask straight – Was the Markaz of Tabhlighi Jamaat a take off point for corona?”

However, the minister called the Islamic congregation “irresponsible” and violative of social distancing norms. Though he conceded: “May be because of that, we saw a sudden spike of Corona cases across India, at that time”, but went on to add that state governments, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s “help” ensured strict contact tracing of all those who were part of the congregation.

Interestingly, Harsh Vardhan didn’t stop there. “Now, there is no point in discussing all this because most of them were traced, quarantined and treated,” he said, adding that most of them have spent as much as 28 days in quarantine and he had gone to meet some of them in person at their quarantine facilities.

It was an interview arranged by the BJP, in line with the one done by party leader Nalin Kohli with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. However, Rao’s insistence on resurrecting Markaz appears to be more of a political question which Harsh Vardhan downplayed, much to Rao’s surprise.

This was not the only suggestive question that Rao asked. He asked the minister, who took over as Chairman of the WHO’s 34-member Executive Board on Friday, about the past association with the world health body while adding, “In the 70s and 80s WHO wasn’t comfortable working with India.” It was a subtle dig at the Congress which ruled India back then. Rao interjected “We have made health for all possible” in-between his questions for the Union Minister.IANS