Indias vaccine rollout has rescued the world from the COVID-19 pandemic, says US scientist
- Dr Peter Botez said that India's collaboration with universitites has globally helped the fight against COVID-19
- The nation is currently one of the leading countries in the world in terms of drug-making
- Emergency use authorisation in India was provided to two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin
India’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout has “rescued the world”
from the claws of the viral disease and that its contribution should not be
underestimated, PTI reported US scientist Dr Peter Hotez as saying. Hotez, Dean
to the National School of Tropical Medicine in Baylor College of Medicine,
located in Houston, Texas, said that India’s collaboration with universities
such as Oxford and BCM have globally assisted in serving the cause.
One of the leading countries in the world in terms of
drug-making, several nations have so far approached India to procuring the
coronavirus vaccine.
Also read: France extends weekend lockdown to north, steps up COVID-19 vaccination
Hotez, during a webinar, highlighted that the two mRNA vaccines,
not necessarily having been able to impact the lower and middle-income
countries of the world, were substituted well by vaccines developed by India.
Emergency use authorisation was provided to Covishield, made
by Pune’s Serum Institute of India who secured a license from British
pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and Covaxin, the indigenous vaccine candidate
prepared by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR).
“This
is something very special and I see it myself because I’m on weekly
teleconferences with our colleagues in India, you make a recommendation, and
within days it’s done and not only done, but it’s done well and with incredible
rigor and thought and creativity.
Also read: PM Modi, Amit Shah among leaders vaccinated on day 1 of second phase
India’s huge efforts in combating global
pandemic is a story that’s not really getting out in the world”, Hotez was
quoted by PTI as saying in a webinar that was organised by Indo American
Chamber of Commerce for Greater Houston (IACCGH).
India
has so far sent nearly 56 lakh vaccine doses as part of grants assistance to a number
of countries. The
vaccines were sent to Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar
and Seychelles.
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