Bangladesh, others request India for Covid vaccine trials: Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said there are requests from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Qatar and Bhutan for clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccine.

Indian scientists and research teams are collaborating and strengthening research capacities in neighbouring countries --Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Three vaccines are at the advanced stages of development in India and two of them are in Phase II and one is in Phase-III.

In an effort to help the global community, Modi directed that they should not limit their efforts to their immediate neighbourhood but also reach out to the entire world in providing vaccines, medicines and IT platforms for the vaccine delivery system.

The Indian Prime Minister on Saturday reviewed the Covid-19 pandemic situation in his country and the preparedness of vaccine delivery, distribution, and administration, according to the Press Information Bureau of India. 

The meeting was attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Principal Secretary to PM, Member (Health) NITI Aayog, Principal Scientific Advisor, Senior Scientists, officers of PMO, and other departments of the Indian government. 

The Prime Minister noted the steady decline in the daily Covid cases and growth rate.

He appealed for social distancing, Covid appropriate behaviour, and self-restraint in the upcoming festival season.

Modi called upon the scientific fraternity and industry, including IT industry and academia of India, to work for the entire mankind.

National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) in consultation with State governments and all relevant stakeholders have prepared and presented a detailed blueprint of vaccine storage, distribution, and administration. 

The Expert Group in consultation with the States is working actively on vaccine prioritisation and distribution of vaccine. 

Modi directed that keeping in view the geographical span and diversity of the country, the access to the vaccine should be ensured speedily. 

He stressed that every step in the logistics, delivery, and administration should be put in place rigorously. 

It must include advanced planning of cold storage chains, distribution network, monitoring mechanism, advance assessment, and preparation of ancillary equipment required, such as vials and syringes.

He directed that they should make the use of experience of successful conduct of elections and disaster management in the country.

In a similar manner, the Prime Minister said, vaccine delivery and administration systems should be put in place.

The entire process should have a strong IT backbone and the system should be designed in such a manner so as to have a lasting value to our healthcare system, he said.

Two Pan India studies on the Genome of SARSCoV-2 (Covid-19 virus) in India conducted by ICMR and D/o Bio-Technology (DBT) suggest that the virus is genetically stable and there is no major mutation in the virus. 

The Prime Minister concluded by cautioning against complacency at the decline and keeping up efforts to contain the pandemic.

He insisted on continued social distancing, Covid appropriate behaviour such as wearing the mask, regularly washing hands and sanitation, especially in the wake of upcoming festival season.