The COVID-19 pandemic has been arguably one of the biggest medical crises on the planet that has claimed millions of lives.
There have been several contenders who have been indulged in producing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. One of the front runners has been the vaccine developed by the Oxford University and Astra Zeneca. Another vaccine has been in the news in India which might be available to the public from December of 2020. That is named Covishield.
Indian Vaccine
Covishield vaccine is manufactured and not developed by the Serum Institute of India. A record number of vaccines will be produced and will be sold for an insignificant cost.
The largest producer of Vaccine
As per the number of doses is concerned, Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest producer of the vaccine.
The Oxford Connection
Covishield is the same vaccine that’s called the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine that is being developed by Oxford University and Astra Zeneca which is the front runner in the vaccine race.
The Pride of Pune
Serum Institute of India is based out of Pune in the state of Maharashtra and is known to be the largest manufacturer in the world. They mass produce vaccines for pneumonia, dengue monoclonal vaccines, and others. It is run by Adar Poonawala.
Adar Poonawala
Adar Poonawala is the Chief Executive Officer of the Serum Insitute of India and is also the son of the founder Cyrus S. Poonawalla. He is overlooking the coronavirus vaccine and is hoping to commence the 3rd phase of the COVID-19 vaccine trial in India.
Covishield is different from Covaxin
The two vaccines Covishield and Covaxin are different and are produced in different processes. Covaxin is developed by Hyderabad’s Bharat Biotech India along with the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Institute of Virology. Covishield is developed by Oxford researchers.
What is the difference between them?
Apart from both of them being developed by different groups, the major difference between the two vaccines is that Covaxin is looking to make use of dead COVID-19 particles to develop immunity. Covishield, on the other hand, will use adenovirus to produce surface spike that will strengthen the immune system against COVID-19.
Trials in India By August End
Over 5,000 people have already enrolled themselves for the clinical trials of Covishield that will be conducted by the Serum Institute of India. The company is waiting for approval and is hoping to start by the end of August.
Vaccine Available By November
If everything that is planned by the Serum Institute of India goes well, the vaccine can be available in India as early as November of 2020.
Price of Vaccine
As per Serum India, they are looking to cap the vaccine at an affordable price of Rs. 1,000. They have also claimed that they would not profit from the vaccine.
Source: India Times
