After registering the second highest daily count on Tuesday with 80,000 new cases, India has recorded a single-day spike of 78,357 new positive cases & 1045 deaths in the last 24 hours and around 29 lakh people recovered from it .

What About The vaccine ?

Covaxin, which is one of India’s prime vaccine candidates is all set to enter mid-scale phase II trials. Observatory data from phase I trial stipulates that the vaccine, made using an inactive strain of the virus shows positive immunogenicity response and is side-effect free. Doctors at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, faculty of medical sciences collected blood samples of volunteers who were dosed with the experimental shot of the vaccine.

Principal Investigator, Dr E.V. Rao mentioned, “Two doses of the vaccine were administered to each volunteer after they were selected through a screening process conducted over a period of three to seven days prior to vaccination. The first dose was administered on Day Zero while the blood sample was collected. The second dose was given on Day 14 and the blood sample was also collected,”

Vaccine Trials

Blood serum samples will continue to be analyzed after a week’s time to make further evaluations. There’s also active participation across the country, for phase II trials. It is now being said that top-level officials are revising protocols and ramping up production channels so as to speed up trials.

This is not the first time positive safety data has been observed in Covaxin trials. Early reports emerging out of Rohtak, which was selected as a trial centre said that the vaccine was able to elicit safe immunogenicity response and resulted in no considerable side-effects. Evidence of side-effects is detrimental to the vaccine working for high-risk and elderly age groups. Knowing the shortcomings and possible side-effects beforehand can prepare us for the future.

Oxford Vaccine

Oxford University has also started dosing volunteers with shots of the experimental, AZD-1222 vaccine (which will be branded as Covishield) in India, which is in phase II/III. Serum Institute of India, Pune, which is overseeing trials and production in India has selected over 17 sites across India. Nearly 1600 volunteers will be involved in the first round. Amongst the first ones to receive the shot are people in their 30s and 40s- while one holds a PhD, one works in the healthcare sector. Serum Institute will also help the research group develop low-cost, an affordable vaccine for developing nations. There are high hopes that the Oxford vaccine, which has also been considered to be the safest till now, will be the first ones to be made available for Indian masses.

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