‘India produces 60% of world’s vaccines, says ex-ICMR chief

T'puram: India established itself as a vaccine superpower when it developed Covaxin, and the country now produces 60% of the world's vaccines, said Dr Balram Bhargava, former director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).He delivered a keynote address at BRIC-Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) on Tuesday on the theme ‘Accelerate Action' as part of RGCB's Women's Day celebration. "Sixty per cent of the world's vaccines are now manufactured in Pune and supplied globally. In 2021, we exported vaccines to more than 100 countries, underscoring our potential in research and development of vaccines," said Dr Balram.Vaccine development, from funding to pre-clinical studies, clinical studies, lab studies and physiological studies, was implemented seamlessly with the help of govt machinery. We formed a National Task Force, comprising 40 scientists from various research domains, who acted in times of crisis, he noted.During the Omicron wave, India had the lowest death rate compared to countries like Russia, the UK, the USA, etc., as more than 95% of the population was vaccinated, which shows how well the govt machinery, along with our health department, worked during the crisis phase, he said.Sharmila Bapat, director of BRIC-National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, who is a pioneer scientist in cancer stem cell research, called upon women to come forward to do research in science. RGCB director Chandrabhas Narayana highlighted the dominant role played by women faculty and research students in RGCB. "One of our faculty members is currently leading the Indian delegation working on cervical cancer eradication. Many of our women students are now doing postdoctoral research in institutions abroad," he added.
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