Will We Have A Covid-19 Vaccine By December? Know Status Of The Frontrunners

Coronavirus pandemic continues around the world and almost everyone is waiting for an effective vaccine. Here's an update on the status of the vaccines.

New Delhi: The world still under the grip of the coronavirus pandemic and with each passing day the impatience for an effective vaccine against the virus is growing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said during an interview with a newspaper that all Indians will be vaccinated with the coronavirus vaccine once it is available and no one will be left behind.



Here are the latest updates on Covid-19 vaccines 

Oxford University-AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine

One of the frontrunners for Covid 19 vaccine, the phase-III trial of Oxford University-AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine candidate is underway in the UK. The vaccine is also being tested in India by the Pune-based Serum Institute under the name Covishield. CEO Adar Poonawalla on Thursday said that Covishield has shown promise during trials is likely to be ready by December 2020 as per the Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla. However, Poonawalla, who raised the hope of vaccine being available by end of this year while speaking to News18, said "a lot is subject to data from the UK and also a lot depends on the approvals coming through from the Drugs Controller General Of India

Moderna

The US-based pharma company Moderna has said that it is preparing to launch its vaccine for Covid-19. According to a report by Reuters the company is in talks with a WHO-led group for distribution. The vaccine known as mRNA-1273  is an RNA based vaccine and is being developed in collaboration with the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The company has also said that it will release data from a late-stage trial of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine next month.

Pfizer

Pharma giant Pfizer has also indicated that it is possible to be ready with the coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year. According to a report by Agence France-Presse CEO Albert Bourla said the company will be able to supply some 40 million doses in the US in 2020 if clinical testing proceeds as expected and regulators approve a vaccine.

Johnson & Johnson

American multinational company Johnson & Johnson has recently announced that the first batches of its candidate could be available for emergency use as soon as January. The company had recently temporarily paused its Covid 19 vaccine trial after a participant fell ill.