Covid vaccine ‘may be’ ready by early 2021, senior citizens and high-risk people to get preference: Centre

He said that the central government is considering an emergency authorisation of Covid-19 vaccination to senior citizens and people in high-risk settings.

Key Highlights

• The Health Minister said that he would be happy to take the first dosage of the vaccine if people have a trust deficit on the matter

• Vardhan said that the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration is drafting a detailed strategy on how to immunise as many people as possible

• He assured that the vaccine would be first made available to those who need it the most, irrespective of their purchasing power

New Delhi: With fresh coronavirus cases now increasing by more than 90,000 every day, India is fast-approaching the dreadful figure of 50 lakh coronavirus infections across the country. The casualty figure too is nearly 80,000 countrywide and the only hope people have against the deadly virus is a vaccine.

However, no country has been able to devise a cure for the disease that broke out in China in December last year and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that the vaccine may not hit the market before early 2021.

“While no date has been fixed for the vaccine launch, it may be ready by the first quarter of 2021,” Vardhan said in New Delhi.

To quell the debate on who would receive the first dosages of the vaccine, he said that the central government is considering an emergency authorisation of Covid-19 vaccination to senior citizens and people in high-risk settings. “This shall be done after a consensus has been reached,” he said.

Vardhan said that the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration is drafting a detailed strategy on how to immunise as many people as possible. He made the comments during the ‘Sunday Samvad’ programme on social media.

He also assured that the government is taking all precautions while conducting human trials of the vaccine.

“Issues like vaccine security, cost, equity, cold-chain requirements, production timelines, etc., are also being discussed intensely,” he said, assuring that the vaccine would be first made available to those who need it the most, irrespective of their purchasing power.

Commenting on the trust deficit some people have evinced over the vaccine, the Health Minister said that he would be happy to take the first dosage of the vaccine if people think so.

Vardhan also elaborated on the vaccine candidates and their development in India.

“The Department of Bio-Technology (DBT), as well as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), have been pro-active in responding to the emerging situation to support the advancement of vaccine candidates. India is actively partnering with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and trials at different phases are ongoing with respect to several vaccines in Indian laboratories (private or public) and hospitals,” he said.