Keypoints:
- PM Modi said that seven companies in India are producing different types of vaccines, while clinical trials of three more vaccines are in an advanced stage.
- While addressing the nation, PM Modi said that if this move is successful, it will give India’s vaccination drive a major boost.
On Monday, PM Modi said that research is underway to develop nasal sprays as an alternative to Covid vaccine. Prime Minister was addressing the nation and said that if successful it will give India’s vaccination drive a major boost.
In his address, Modi said that, “Compared to the demand for vaccines all over the world today, the number of countries producing them and the companies manufacturing the vaccine is very less. Imagine if we did not have a vaccine made in India right now, what would have happened.”
He was speaking about the vaccine status in India and he said that seven companies in India are producing different types of vaccines, while clinical trials of three more vaccines are in an advanced stage.
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech is designing the nasal vaccine which was addressed by the Prime Minister. Scientists say that the intranasal vaccine will minimise the virus load in the body as studies show that Covid-19 first established itself in the nasal cavity before spreading to other parts of the body including the lungs. The company is in the final stages of the clinical trials for the vaccine before it makes an announcement.
Earlier, the company had advocated that nasal vaccines are cost effective and efficient over intravenous injectable vaccines. In his speech, Modi said that so far 23 crore people have been vaccinated in India.
PM Modi’s address to the country comes at a time when India logged lowest coronavirus cases in two months with 1 lakh fresh cases. Daily Covid death toll has also come down while the number of active cases in the country has decreased to 14 lakh.
PM Modi, on Friday, lauded Indian scientists for developing a Made in India vaccine against coronavirus and boosting measures to fight the pandemic within a year of its outbreak.
