Summary:
New Delhi: The official claim by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) that it envisaged the “launch” of a Covid vaccine for “public health use latest by August 15” has drawn sharp criticism from the scientific community and sparked fears that its safety and efficacy could be compromised to meet the “near impossible” timeline.
Importantly, the August 15 deadline flies in the face of publicly announced timelines for the possible readiness of this vaccine, including the vaccine developer’s own estimate and the timeline provided to the regulatory body, Drug Controller General of India.
Even AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, the head of the clinical research group of the national task force on COVID-19, seemed surprised.
“It will be a very challenging and difficult task, considering that we have to look at both efficacy and safety of any vaccine that is introduced.
Also, if we get the desired results, the other challenge is the process of mass production of the vaccine,” Guleria told The Indian Express.
Shaheed Jameel, a well-known virologist and chief executive of the Wellcome Trust-DBT Alliance that funds health research in India said August 15 timeline was “ridiculous”.
“I fear the global scientific community would be laughing at us for this.
It should not have happened.