Moderna’s vaccine coming to India
January 25, 2021Reuters news agency referred to the Economic Times as saying Monday that Tata Group’s healthcare venture has reportedly started the first discussions with Moderna Inc for a partnership to launch its COVID-19 vaccine in India.
According to the report’s sources who are familiar with the matter, Tata Medical & Diagnostics and India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research are about to join forces in carrying out clinical trials of Moderna’s vaccine candidate in India.
One of the reasons countries like India are aiming at Moderna’s vaccine is that it doesn’t have to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius or below, while the efficacy and safety measures put the vaccine in the top. The latest study showed it was 94.1% effective, and it has been approved in Europe and the USA. It will still have to undergo certain local studies, Reuters notes, as India mandates that any vaccine maker must conduct an additional local study if it has to be considered for what the country calls the world’s biggest vaccination programme.
After the USA, India has the world’s second highest number of COVID-19 cases.