'Covaxin safest coronavirus vaccine in world,' says Bharat Biotech Chairman Krishna Ella

Amid concerns that the government might have given approval for emergency use to Bharat Biotech's coronavirus vaccine Covaxin in haste, Chairman of the company Dr Krishna Ella said that it is one of the safest vaccines in the world. He said that the company has conducted 18 clinical trials globally. "We have done more than 18 clinical trials globally. We are the largest company in the developing world with the highest number of clinical trials," he said.

Dr Krishna Ella said, "We took vero cell culture at coronavirus vaccine platform. All our vaccines which we are producing are at the same platform. It is the safest and easiest platform and safety can be proven very easily."

Assuring that Covaxin is the safest in the world, Dr Ella said that they have had five publications in the past six months. "China has not done any efficacy trials, Russia also has not done any efficacy trials. We are doing efficacy trials on 26,000 people in the third phase," he said.

He also hailed DCGI's decision to approve the vaccine and said that it is a giant leap for innovation and novel product development in India. 

Dr Ella said that the company is also working on two more vaccines against the virus. Bharat Biotech has collaborated with two different US universities to develop the vaccine under trial.

"Just imagine 1.3 billion people, 2 dose vaccines, 2.6 billion syringes and needles, the amount of pollution we will create. It will be phenomenal. So, we are working on a nasal vaccine and have partnered with Washington University. We are working on a single dose vaccine compared to a two-dose inactivated vaccine. Research has proven that nasal vaccine is the best choice. COVID also goes through the nose. This vaccine can be given to two-month-old babies as well and a nasal vaccine can be administered to the entire population except for cancer patients and pregnant women," said Dr Ella. He hopes that the nasal vaccine will soon become a reality. 

Also read: India approves Serum-Oxford, Bharat Biotech COVID vaccines for emergency use

Also read: COVID-19 vaccine: India's very own Covaxin draws global attention, says ICMR