COVID-19 and the race for its vaccine

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Since the coronavirus has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation there has been a race amongst the nations to get to a vaccine for its cure first. Almost all the major countries around the world are in a race against time as no one wants to lose this race. Getting there first means a whole basket of gifts and additional power along with it.

A nation who gets to the vaccine first is a winner and can bargain it for hoards of profit while sharing it with other countries. A vaccine for coronavirus not only brings money to the nation but an advantage too at the global stage.

Now the question is where does India stand in the race for the vaccine. India is in a win – win situation either ways as without India no country can mass produce the vaccine as India produces 70% of the vaccines being administered in the world. Moreover three Indian companies are in the various stages of developing the vaccine.

In India , Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Ahmedabad based Zydus Cadila’s ZyCov-D are in early stages of human trials whereas  the Oxford and British Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca which has tied up with the Pune based Serum Institue of India to mass produce the vaccine is in advance stages of trials.

India is hopeful that Oxford’s vaccine could be the first COVID-19 shot given to the Indians. Although the human trials of locally produced Çovaxin’ and ‘ZyCov-D’have been fast tracked and both the vaccine candidates are looking to complete the human trials by the end of 2020 . This means that the homegrown vaccines can be pushed out for public circulation by the first quarter of 2021 , as per Health Minister of India Dr Harshvardhan.

So the bleak year of 2020 is bringing some positive news by the year end and we will definitely have a COVID-19 vaccine by the first quarter of 2021. India by mass producing the vaccine will again bring hope for the entire world reeling due to coronavirus and live upto its tag of being the Phormacy of the World.   

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Gautam Agarwal

Indian Businessman

Swayamsevak, BJP Karyakarta & a Nationalist

Follow him @gauaggbjp