Coronavirus Vaccine Latest Update: At a time when researchers are busy finding a vaccine for the deadly coronavirurus, Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine could be launched by February as last-stage trials have started this month with studies so far showing it is safe and effective. This was said by a senior government scientist to news agency Reuters.

Bharat Biotech, which is developing the COVAXIN with the government-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), had earlier hoped to launch it in the second quarter of next year.

Giving further details, senior ICMR scientist Rajni Kant, who is also a member of its COVID-19 task-force, said that the vaccine has shown good efficacy and it is expected that by the beginning of next year, February or March.

Notably, the launch in February would make COVAXIN the first India-made vaccine to be rolled out.

The development comes at a time when the coronavirus tally in the country has gone up to 50,201 cases on Thursday , taking the total tally to 8.36 million, second only to the United States.

On the other hand, the deaths on Thursday rose by 704, taking the total toll to 124,315. The daily rise in infections and deaths has slowed since a peak in mid-September.

He further added that it was up to the Ministry of Health to decide if COVAXIN shots can be given to people even before the third-stage trials are over.

He also added that there may be some risk, if you are ready to take the risk, you can take the vaccine. If necessary, the government can think of giving the vaccine in an emergency situation, he added.

Prior to this, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had said in September that the Centre was considering granting an emergency authorisation for a vaccine, particularly for the elderly and people in high-risk workplaces.

What are the other vaccine candidates now?

A number of vaccine candidates are already working in final-stage testing. An experimental vaccine developed by Britain’s AstraZeneca is among the most advanced ones at the moment. As per updates, the UK is planning to roll it out in late December or early 2021.

Other vaccines which are also in the last stage are being developed by Moderna Inc, Pfizer Inc with partner BioNTech SE, and Johnson & Johnson.