New Delhi: Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has said that if everything goes well, India would get a vaccine against the Novel Coronavirus by the end of this year. Three COVID-19 vaccine candidates, including two indigenous ones, are in different phases of development in India.

Phase-one human clinical trials of the two indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidates, one developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and the other by Zydus Cadila Ltd, have been completed and the trials have moved to phase-two, ICMR Director General Dr. Balram Bhargava said recently.

The Serum Institute of India, which has partnered with AstraZeneca for manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the University of Oxford, has been permitted for conducting its phase two and three human clinical trials in India. It is likely to start the trials next week.

In a tweet in Hindi, Vardhan said, “I hope that if everything goes well, India will get a Coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year.”

Serum Institute clarifies : Meanwhile, Serum Institute of India (SSI), which has entered a manufacturing partnership with AstraZeneca to produce Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, has issued a clarification, denying reports that the shot may be launched in 73 days as “completely false  and conjectural.”

The Pune-based company’s clarification said that the Government has granted it permission to only manufacture Covishield and stockpile it for future use. It has also said that Covishield will be commercialised once trials are proven successful and requisite regulatory approvals are in place.