If things go as per plan for the next few months, India will most probably have at least one COVID-19 vaccine by December, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has said.
As of now, India is in the process of developing as many as three vaccines to eliminate the novel coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2.
Two of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates, one being developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the other by Zydus Cadila Ltd, have completed phase-one clinical trials and have moved to phase-two.
The third COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in partnership with AstraZeneca, has secured permission to conduct its phase two and three human clinical trials in India.
Meanwhile, the ICMR is setting up a website which will provide all the necessary information and updates regarding the three vaccine candidates.
India is currently the third worst-hit country with more than 30 lakh COVID-19 cases and over 56,500 deaths. The active cases in the country stand at above 7 lakh.