People all over the world are anxiously waiting a drug or vaccine for the treatment of killer coronavirus. Amid varying claims by political leaders and harbinger, medical and scientific fraternity are yet not sure if drug could come sooner than later.
In his latest utterance as is his wont, US president Donald Trump has claimed that Covid-19 vaccine will be ready this year. However the head of the US drugs regulator has cast doubt on President Donald Trump's prediction asserting "I can't predict when a vaccine will be available,"
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, Dr Stephen Hahn, says vaccine development would be "based upon the data and science". Hahn is an American physician who is US Commissioner of Food and Drugs since December 2019. Before that. he was a radiation oncologist serving as Chief Medical Executive of the MD Anderson Cancer Center
Trump has been slammed time and again for his reckless utterances on vaccines and treatments during the coronavirus epidemic. He was the first one to champion the use of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as treatment for corona despite medical experts advising against its use.Though corona outbreak has claimed lives of almost 132,000 people in the US, yet Trump is not serious on containing the outbreak .In recent days, infections have been rising at a record rate in western and southern states, bringing the total to more than 2.8 million nationwide.
There is no hope of corona vaccine and its mass production earlier than an year, say experts. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has warned in June that scientists may never be able to create an effective vaccine against the coronavirus."The estimate is we may have a vaccine within one year," the WHO chief said. "If accelerated, it could be even less than that, but by a couple of months. That's what scientists are saying." Most of the experts say a Covid-19 vaccine will not be available until at least mid-2021.
But like Trump, India has also claimed that a corona vaccine could be ready by August 15."The under-development vaccine is “envisaged" to be rolled out “for public health use by Aug. 15 after completion of all clinical trials," Indian Council of Medical Research, or ICMR, said in a July 2 letter to clinical trial sites.
After criticism by scientific fraternity, ICMR even defended the August 15 target for launching Covaxin, India’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate. “ICMR’s process is exactly in accordance with the globally accepted norms to fast-track the vaccine development for diseases of pandemic potential wherein human and animal trials can continue in parallel,” the ICMR said in a statement after the scientific community questioned the “near impossible timeline” in getting a vaccine ready for public health use.
Earlier, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev claimed that Patanjali has developed 'Coronil' as potential drug for treatment of coronavirus. Later. it made a u turn saying it was just 'immunity booster,' not 'cure' for corona.
A vaccine normally takes years to develop, but scientists across the world are doing their best to fast-track efforts. There are around 120 vaccine programs currently under way. Oxford University and Imperial College London have both started human trials. Still health officials have expressed cautious optimism that a vaccine will be in production by the end of 2020 or early 2021.
So how strong is India's claim of corona vaccine to be ready by August 15. By all accounts, it appears be like that of Baba Ramdev. If India come with corona vaccine by August 15. it will be a miracle.
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