Covid vaccine

Developing a safe, effective and accessible vaccine for Covid-19 holds the key to containing the pandemic, especially in the long run. Around 120 vaccines are in the works across the world, of which at least 10 are undergoing human trials. In India, which is moving quickly up the list of countries with the most number of coronavirus cases, at least four industry-led initiatives are expected to enter the first phase of clinical trials by the year-end. It is creditable that the country is looking for indigenous solutions rather than banking on other nations to do the needful. Much depends on the synergy between the stakeholders in the public and private sectors, besides the flow of funds for this critical task. Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is coordinating research efforts and clinical trials. With Health Minister Harsh Vardhan heading the WHO’s 34-member Executive Board, India now has a greater say in the UN body in making policy decisions and bettering the global response to the pandemic. It’s imperative for India to strike a balance between its own interests and those of the international community.

Even as the current focus worldwide is on lowering the mortality rate and testing potential drugs to combat Covid-19, vaccine development is posing a major challenge to governments as well as scientists and researchers. A vital factor here is speed: how quickly can the vaccine be developed so as to rein in the virus? America’s Operation Warp Speed intends to compress 10 years of vaccine development and testing into just a few months. The US Department of Health and Human Services and AstraZeneca, a multinational pharma company, are on the job promising to make available at least 300 million doses of a vaccine, with the first ones likely to be supplied as early as October this year.

The pressure to fast-track the process, however, should not override the considerations of safety and ethics. A misfire would not only bring the developers back to the drawing board but also trigger potentially disastrous complications. Cooperation between nations would be put to the test as the race for the vaccine hots up in the coming months. Due diligence can help India emerge among the pioneers.