India In Talks With Russia on COVID-19 Vaccine
The Indian Health Ministry said on Tuesday that they are in conversation with Russia regarding the Sputnik-V covid-19 vaccine launched earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Union Health Ministry, said India and Russia are in communication regarding the Sputnik-5 vaccine, and some initial information has already been shared.
Russia’s vaccine is currently in phase III clinical trial and is the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine registered. More than 40,000 people at over 45 centers in Russia are involved in phase III clinical trial of the vaccine.
Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said Russia is looking for a partnership with India for producing the COVID-19 vaccine. He said several countries from Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America are interested in the production of the vaccine. Russia believes India is capable of producing the Gamaleya vaccine, and a partnership could enable them to cover the demand for the vaccine, he added. Russia is also looking forward to international cooperation.
They are planning to conduct clinical trials not just in Russia, but also in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and probably in India and Brazil. There is
a high demand for the delivery of the vaccine from Latin America, Asia, Italy, and other parts of the world, so they are planning to produce the vaccine in more than five countries.Gamaleya Research Institute and the Russian defense ministry developed the vaccine dubbed as Sputnik V. And in less than two months of human testing, the vaccine was registered by Russia. The initial trial results are not publicly available yet.
The Health Ministry had mentioned earlier that they had ramped the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, there are three vaccines ahead of India’s race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, said Dr. Balram Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Medical Research Institute (ICMR).
Dr. Bhargava informed that Zydus Cadila’s and Bharat Biotech’s vaccines had completed phase 1 trial while that from the Serum Institute is in phase 2(B) and phase 3 trials.
Meanwhile, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group said their COVID-19 vaccine could be put before regulators this year if they can gather enough data.
The tests for detection of coronavirus in India have increased exponentially, and there has been a steady decline in the number of positive cases in the country, said the ministry. The Union Health Ministry Secretary also the active cases are only 22.2% of the total cases, and the recovery rate is more than 75%.
