1. Home
2. Editorial

DRY RUNS IN INDIA; A HOPE TO GET BACK TO THE NORMAL

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 1/16/2021 11:38:43 AM

This past Saturday, India held a nation-wide dry run for the preparation of events when eventually as the vaccines will be rolled out to initiate the immunization drive. India Is known as the Vaccine Capital of the world as the majority of the vaccines are mass-produced in India and then exported elsewhere. The world has already approved several vaccines for the COVID-19 disease with the immunization drives dating almost a month back now. As the UK initially approved Pfizer-BionTech vaccine candidate for emergency use back in December, numerous other countries took notice and followed this path. Interestingly the UK was also the first country to nod at the Oxford-AstraZeneca candidate for emergency use. It almost seems like India authorities have been cautious before approving any potential candidate too soon, given the enormous population it houses. It can be duly diligent if we miss out on any aspect of this case irrespective of how minuscule it is. Throughout the globe, Pfizer’s vaccine candidate has taken the lead in the vaccine race with the highest efficacy rate yet this image is a bit different in India, as AstraZeneca’s Covishield which will be mass-produced by Serum Institute of India, charges ahead, being recommended by the SEC. Interestingly it comes days after the UK’s regulatory authority approved the vaccine on Wednesday. Though Pfizer may be the best option in terms of efficacy, AstraZeneca’s candidate will be most suitable to achieve immunization at a mass scale in a country like India with limited numbers of extreme freezers essential to store the Pfizer vaccine at -70 degree Celsius compared to normal refrigeration storage of 2-8 degree Celsius required for the AstraZeneca’s candidate. The world also looks upon India’s indigenous developed Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is seriously considered over any Chinese made counterparts to exported to the lower-income and middle-income nations in South Asia, South America, Africa or elsewhere. It is primarily because of low trust developed with China as the events unfolded, evident of a clear message to the world. As none of the vaccines has received a nod by the DCGI, it will be interesting to see which one will be the first to be granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA)