Coronavirus vaccine: Oxford scientist says that India has a big role in delivering vaccines

With clinical observations from early-stage Oxford-Astrazeneca backed vaccine showing positive and encouraging results, there's a lot more research needed to conclude the working of the same. Provided, there are a lot of benefits and safety concerns from the data gathered so far, the vaccine maker has tied up with several pharmaceutical and vaccine producers across the globe to speed up production. AstraZeneca has promised to deliver upwards of a billion doses for the same. One of the prime producers will be Serum Institue of India, (SII), Pune, which is currently seeking licensing to start work on the production. Part of their phase III trials are also expected to be conducted in India next month.

It is no doubt that a lot of pharmaceutical companies and researchers come knocking on India's door. The country is said to be one of the largest exporters and producers of vaccines. Considering this, a lead scientist, Andrew Pollard, Director, Oxford Vaccine Group has said that India will have a big role to play, delivering vaccines on a massive scale.

Speaking to The Hindu, Pollard, who has been involved in the development of the vaccine gave insights into how the vaccine can be deployed in the future, what percentage of the population will be immunized and who will get access to it first:

"It is an impossible question to answer because it is determined by how many cases occur amongst the population we have vaccinated. We can only tell whether we have got protection with the vaccine if we can prevent infection in our population of vaccine recipients and that is determined by how much transmission of the virus there is in the population that we are working in. I can tell you a lot about how much transmission there was last week, but I do not know how much transmission there is going to be next week. That is what we need to be studying about the protection offered by the vaccine. If I knew the future, I could answer your question, but I do not."

ICMR head Balram Bhargava, in a previous briefing also said that India will have a big role to play in vaccine development, considering the scale of production is one of the largest globally.

"We need to have enough doses of the vaccine available, and then we need to be able to vaccinate enough people to stop the virus in its tracks. But that is quite a big deal. First of all, you have got to manufacture it at an enormous scale, for a country like India, to be able to vaccinate a large proportion of the population. Then you actually have to get out and deliver the vaccine on a scale that has never been seen before. That is also a big hurdle. Even if you have a vaccine and you have enough doses, the logistics of preventing infection is everyone is going to be a huge, mass vaccination programme."

Pollard also said that prioritizing vaccine doses for those who may need it first is also a question authorities need to answer:

"Many countries are thinking, initially, about how to protect those at greatest risk, like hospital workers, older individuals, and those with comorbidities. That is probably the right way to start."

The researcher, who is the Chief Investigator in the COVID-19 team also said that they are working on keeping the price of the vaccine low-cost so that it is distributed equally and fairly amongst all:

"The partnership that Oxford University has made with AstraZeneca is a not-for-profit partnership. We try to make sure that we are able to ensure equitable access around the world. There is a facility that will help fund vaccines, particularly for developing countries, and to make sure there is equitable access."

Serum Institute recently said that they are hopeful of starting phase III trials of the Oxford vaccine, to be called 'Covishield' in India by August and wrapping it by November. In an interview, Adar Poonawalla also said that they are sure of producing up to 300 million doses by December, with half of it going to India and the other half distributed to other developing countries as needs arise.

Poonawalla also concurred with Pollard's statement, adding that pricing won't be a major issue, with the company thinking of capping the price of the vaccine under Rs. 1000 as they don't want to "make a profit out of the pandemic". He also said that the government set up immunisation programs and other distribution strategies may also play a big part.