Congress attacks ICMR for targeting mid-August Covid vaccine launch; Ramesh gets sarcastic

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday hit out at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for announcing its plans to launch its indigenous COVID vaccine by mid-August claiming that it was dangerous to 'announce deadlines' just to 'make headlines.' Calling the ICMR 'Sarvagyani’ (know-it-all), the Congress leader claimed that announcing deadlines could destroy ICMR's credibly and violate its norms and safety protocols. 

Jairam Ramesh also quoted reports of Bharat Biotech's founder Krishna Ella's interview suggesting that the vaccine could only complete Phase-1 trials by August. He also quoted WHO's Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan saying that a vaccine's Phase-3 trials were the most important for testing its efficacy.  Asking the ICMR to 'come clean and save its reputation,' the Congress leader lashed out at the medical body saying that the 'scientific and ethical guidelines can not be compromised.'

Read: ICMR Bolsters 'mid-August' Covid Vaccine Effort; Adds 12 Institutes For Covaxin Trial

Read: ICMR & Centre Advise States To Test Upto Full Capacity; Slams Low Testing By Pvt Labs

ICMR aims to launch vaccine by August 15

Issuing a statement earlier in the day, the ICMR said that it aims to launch the BBV152 COVID vaccine in partnership with Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) for public use by August 15, 2020, after completing all clinical trials. BBIL is working efficiently to meet the target, however, the final outcome depends on the cooperation of all clinical trial sites involved in this project, the ICMR said.

For the human clinical trial of India’s first COVID-19 vaccine, the ICMR has shortlisted 12 institutes, including one from Odisha. The apex body selected 12 institutes to fast track clinical trials of the vaccine which is one of the top priority projects monitored by the Central government.

"The vaccine is derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 isolated by ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune. ICMR and BBIL are jointly working for the pre-clinical as well as clinical development of this vaccine," an official said.

Read: COVID-19: Testing Lab In Aurangabad Varsity Gets ICMR Approval

Read: ICMR Assures 'commitment To Safety' As Scientists Question Deadline For Covaxin Launch