A Vaccine would be the most decisive redemption from the Pandemic.
The World is waiting for a safe vaccine, which is universally accessible.
But scientific advances can never be ‘made to order’.
Forcing the development of an indegenous vaccine as a cure for Covid-19, bypassing all health & safety norms, to be announced by PM Modi on Independence Day is fraught with horrendous human costs.
Some serious questions need to be answered:
How can ICMR decide on vaccine launch date without regulator DCGI evaluating evidence of safety and efficacy? What liability is ICMR assuming in aggressively pushing the trial of a vaccine produced by a private company?
How can ICMR compel institutions to start trials without giving time to their Institutional Ethics Committees to examine the trial protocol, consent procedures and liability?
How has ICMR selected the institutions which will conduct the trial? Three of them are private institutions, including a private practitioner who has no institutional address!
Why is ICMR using threats to get institutions to fall in line? Some of the institutions like NIMS in Hyderabad are State government institutions.
Has permission been given by the Government of Telangana?
What is the number of people who will be studied in this trial? Will phase 1, 2 and 3 trials be completed and analysed by August 14?
Who are the members of the independent Data Safety Monitoring Committee (DSMC)?