PM holds virtual meet with teams developing, manufacturing Covid-19 vaccine

The teams were from Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd in Pune, Biological E Ltd and Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd in Hyderabad.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a virtual meeting with three teams working on developing and manufacturing COVID-19 vaccine, and said they should take extra efforts to inform people in simple language about the vaccine and related matters such as its efficacy.

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said that Modi also asked the companies, represented by these teams, to come out with their suggestions and ideas regarding the regulatory processes and related matters.

"The PM advised all the departments concerned to engage with the manufacturers and seek to resolve matters so that the efforts by these companies bear fruit in order to serve the needs of the country and the entire world," it added.

These teams were from Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd Pune, Biological E Ltd Hyderabad and Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd Hyderabad.

The prime minister appreciated the efforts being taken by scientists in these companies to come out with a vaccine solution to tackle COVID-19.

The potential of various platforms for vaccine development was also discussed, the statement said.

Matters relating to logistics, transport, cold chain etc in respect of delivering the vaccines were also discussed.

All the vaccine candidates discussed are at different stages of trials and detailed data and results are expected early next year onwards, it added.

Modi had on Saturday visited Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune to review the development and manufacturing process of coronavirus vaccines at facilities in these cities.

The total coronavirus cases in India have mounted to 94,31,691 with 38,772 new infections, while the death toll climbed to 1,37,139 after 443 more fatalities were reported, according to Health Ministry data.