Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked the Central government to make available any likely vaccine candidate against COVID-19 after validation of stage 2 human trials for front line medical workers at the very least.
Mr. Sarma had written a letter to Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan last month, requesting that regulatory permits for vaccine candidates, being developed in India, be expedited as the challenges of dealing with COVID-19 were mounting.
“We are trying to convince people to abide by COVID-19 norms. The evolving situation is a matter of great concern. I will request the Centre to please allow the vaccine even at stage 2 trials. If you wait for stage 3 trials, the waiting period will be too long. If efficacy is established in stage 2, please allow the vaccine for at least front line staff, and that itself can be the stage 3 trial”, said Mr. Sarma to The Hindu over the telephone. The fact that the disease is currently being treated symptomatically and not aetiologically has weighed on this opinion.
The letter written to Dr. Vardhan clearly states that despite efforts at controlling the spread of the disease, a quick vaccine development and large scale dissemination appears to be the only way to restore a semblance of normalcy to everyday life and the economy.
‘Covaxin’ trial
Mr. Sarma has been at the forefront of Assam’s efforts at COVID-19 control and capacity-building. Incidentally, the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) is likely to be selected as one of the centres for the Phase II trials of “Covaxin”, one of the indigenous vaccine candidates being developed by Bharat Biotech. Earliest assessments on the availability of vaccines puts it to the middle of 2021.
The Union government has already set up a task force for the storage, distribution and implantation of the vaccine programme.