Last Updated : Nov 28, 2020 11:15 AM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com

PM Modi Visits Vaccine Facilities LIVE Updates: PM reaches Zydus plant to review COVID-19 vaccine development

PM Modi is also scheduled to visit Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech's facilities to review development of vaccines against the novel coronavirus.

Moneycontrol News
(Image: ANI)
(Image: ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived pharmaceutical major Zydus Cadila's plant in Gujarat, where he will review COVID-19 vaccine development.

Zydus Biotech Park is situated at Changodar industrial area near Ahmedabad. The drugmaker had earlier announced that the phase-I clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, ZyCoV-D, has been completed and it has commenced phase-II clinical trials from August.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to visit Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech's facility in Hyderabad later today.

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COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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SII has partnered with British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca and the  University of Oxford for clinical trials of a potential vaccine against COVID-19 .

The Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has granted permission for manufacture of COVID-19 vaccine for pre-clinical test, examination and analysis to seven firms, one of which is the SII.

"We have received a confirmation about PM Modi's visit to the Serum Institute of India on November 28," Pune Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rao said, as quoted by PTI.

"The PM will arrive at the Pune airport at 12.30 pm on the day. He will attend the scheduled programme at the Serum Institute of India from 1 pm to 2 pm, where he will review the mechanism of COVID-19 vaccine production and its distribution," he said.

Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine candidate, called Covaxin, is currently undergoing phase-3 trials.

PM Modi will be arriving at Hakimpet Air Force station in an IAF flight from Pune in the afternoon, PTI reported citing an official memo issued by the Telangana Chief Secretary. He will directly go to Bharat Biotech's facility at Genome Valley and return to the Air Force base after the visit. He will fly back to Delhi the same evening, it said. Sources told the news agency that PM Modi will spend one hour at the facility.

"As India enters a decisive phase of the fight against COVID-19, PM Modi's visit to these facilities and discussions with the scientists will help him get a first hand perspective of the preparations, challenges & roadmap in India’s endeavour to vaccinate its citizens," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted on November 27.

 
First Published on Nov 28, 2020 09:39 am

tags #coronavirus #Current Affairs #India #Narendra Modi