4 COVID-19 vaccine candidates may enter clinical trial phase in 3-5 months: Vardhan

Four out of the 14 COVID-19 vaccine candidates from India may enter the clinical trial stage in the next three-five months, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday.

In an online interaction with BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao, Vardhan said the entire world was working on developing a vaccine to halt the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"There are more than 100 candidates for developing a vaccine that are working at different levels. The WHO is coordinating the efforts," the health minister said.

"India is also actively contributing to that effort. We have 14 vaccine candidates that are working on different levels," he said. "Industry, academic world are contributing to it and our Ministry of Science is helping the Department of Biotechnology in all such efforts."
"It's very difficult to predict when a vaccine will come, but as a doctor, I can say that the process it involves, one year would be a modest estimate," he said. "Till the vaccine is not developed, people should use social vaccines like the mask and social distancing."