About 18-19 Vaccine Candidates Against COVID-19 In Pipeline: Health Minister

New Delhi: About 18-19 vaccine candidates against COVID-19 are under development and in different clinical trial stages, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Monday (February 15). Addressing the media, Dr Vardhan said that in the next 2-3 weeks, vaccinations against COVID-19 will be started for people above 50 years of age. “About 18-20 vaccine candidates against COVID-19 are in the works and are in preclinical, clinical and advanced stages,” Dr Vardhan said.

Also Read: Coronavirus Vaccine Explained: What Is Intra Nasal Vaccine?

He further said that India will be supplying vaccines to 20-25 other countries. Dispelling rumours surrounding the vaccines, Mr Vardhan said the vaccines in the public domain are safe and effective.

He said no new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in 188 districts of the country in the last 7 days, while no new cases have been reported in 21 districts in 21 days. Mr Vardhan further urged people to keep following COVID appropriate behaviour.

It is crucial that people continue to follow COVID appropriate behaviour which I call social vaccine, along with real vaccines, he said.

India has approved two vaccines — Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech and Covishield from the Oxford/AstraZeneca stable being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India — for emergency use in the country.

Also Read: Pace Of COVID-19 Vaccination Has Been Kept Slow Intentionally To Iron Out Glitches: Indian Council Of Medical Research

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.