India / COVID-19 vaccine will reach every Indian in least possible time when ready: PM

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that an India-made vaccine for the coronavirus disease, which has killed more than 48,000 people and affected over 2.4 million people in the country, will be out soon. In his Independence Day speech, PM Modi said that the government is waiting for a green signal from scientists.

“All of us are waiting for a vaccine for Covid-19. I want to tell you that three vaccine candidates are at different stages of testing in the country,” said the prime minister.

“As soon as our experts and scientists give the green signal, a Made in India Covid-19 vaccine will be available soon,” he added.

He also hailed the role of the healthcare professionals who are at the forefront of the battle against Covid-19, the disease cased by the virus. PM Modi said that the government will produce the potential vaccine on a large scale.

“We have prepared the infrastructure to provide the vaccine to every person in the country,” he said.

The coronavirus disease rapidly spread across the world since its outbreak was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan. After China, the disease took Europe in its grip, killing millions and wiping off decades of progress.

It then reached the United States, which remains the hardest hit country. Apart from the loss of lives, the economic impact was also brutal and many professionals became jobless due to the pandemic. The US saw one of its worst jobless rates due to the coronavirus disease.

But as soon as the disease started spreading, efforts began to find a cure. Many pharmaceutical companies and governments announced the trial of their potential vaccine candidates. In fact, as many as 100 vaccine candidates were being tested across the world, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In India, there were three vaccines which were at different stages of development. The clinical trials of these vaccine candidates were being done together with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) at various sites acorss the country.