30 Covid-19 vaccines in different stages of development: Scientists to PM Modi

Coronavirus treatment: More than 30 COVID-19 vaccines under development! With more than 50,000 positive Coronavirus cases in India, rolling out a vaccine has become a key focus for Indian scientists and researchers. As a result, there are currently more than 30 vaccines against COVID-19 in India that are under development, albeit at different stages. According to a report by HT, some experts have informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that few vaccines are ready for trials in the country. The information was passed to the PM during a meeting of the task force, the report said.

Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday chaired a meeting of the task force on coronavirus vaccine development and took a detailed review of the current status of India’s steady efforts in vaccine development, drug discovery, diagnosis and testing.

According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s office after the meeting, Indian companies have come across as innovators in early-stage vaccine development research.

As per the report, it revealed that for drug development, three approaches are being taken. One is the repurposing of existing drugs. A minimum of four drugs is currently under synthesis as well as examination.

The second approach is the development of new candidate drugs. For this, linking high-performance computational approaches along with laboratory verification are used to drive molecules. The third approach used by experts including plant products and extracts. They are being examined for general anti-viral properties, the report said.

It has further been brought to attention that many academic research institutions and start-ups are also developing new tests, including both for antibody detection and the Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for diagnosis and testing. The report added that the capacity for these two tests has also been scaled up.