Coronavirus: How soon could Russian vaccine be available in India?
On Tuesday, Russia announced what it claims is the first COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow. Although the vaccine's established safety and efficacy have been brought into question, since it has been announced after less than two months of human testing, global interest has spiked in the product. So, how soon could this vaccine be available?
Vaccine likely to go into production immediately
The vaccine is supposed to be manufactured by Gamaleya Institute's own facility apart from another plant owned by Sistema, a big Russian business house. The vaccine is likely to go into production immediately and Sistema said on Tuesday that the first batches of the vaccine would soon be shipped to Russian provinces. Healthcare workers will be the first ones to get the vaccine.
Production capacity short against global demand
The Sistema facility can produce 1.5 million doses annually (which will be ramped up). Considering the high global demand, it's likely that the international availability of the vaccine will take time. However, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund told Reuters that foreign requests for 1 billion doses had been received and international agreements to produce 500 million doses annually had been secured.
What is the process to secure the vaccine for India?
Meanwhile, for India, the vaccine would first have to undergo late-phase human trials on the Indian population, as a vaccine's efficacy may vary for different population groups. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) can either ask Russia to conduct phase 2 and 3 trials on an Indian population or give emergency authorization without conducting late-phase trials.
CDSCO unlikely to grant emergency approval
Although the CDSCO has the authority to grant emergency approval to the vaccine considering the extraordinary situation, it is unlikely to do so. Vaccines are administered to a large section of the population, and the risks would be too high to continue without late-phase human trials. Hence, if the Russian vaccine is at all made available in India, it will not be soon.
