NEW DELHI (AP) – India tested its COVID-19 vaccine delivery system with a national test on Saturday, as it prepared to launch an inoculation program to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
The trial included data entry on an online platform to monitor vaccine delivery, along with cold storage tests and transport arrangements for the vaccine, the health ministry said in a statement.
The massive exercise was followed by the Indian drug regulator, recommending the approval of the emergency use of two vaccines for COVID-19 – one developed by the University of Oxford and the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and the other by the Indian manufacturer Bharat Biotech.
Both vaccines will now have to wait for final approval from the Indian regulator.
The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing company, has been contracted by AstraZeneca to make 1 billion doses for developing nations, including India. On Wednesday, Britain was the first to approve the shot.
The vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech is based on an inactivated form of the coronavirus. It is being done in collaboration with Indian government agencies. The first clinical studies showed that the vaccine has no serious side effects and produces antibodies to COVID-19. The company said in November that it was starting late clinical trials.
The government plans to inoculate 300 million people in the first phase of the vaccination program, which will include health and frontline professionals, police and military personnel, as well as people with comorbidities over the age of 50.
The government is expected to initially rely on the vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India, which does not require the ultra-cool storage facilities that some others do. Instead, it can be stored in refrigerators. This makes it a viable candidate, not only for India, but also for other developing nations.
Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan reviewed preparations for the vaccination campaign at a government hospital in New Delhi on Saturday and urged the public not to listen to anti-vaccine rumors. “We will not compromise any protocol before approving a vaccine,” he told reporters.
Pooja Moriya, a health professional from the capital who will be one of the first to be vaccinated, said the hospital staff had several meetings about the vaccine and how it works. “Our elderly people told us not to be afraid at all,” said Moriya.
India has confirmed more than 10.3 million cases of coronavirus, the second in the world, behind the USA. More than 149,000 people died of the virus in India.