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First India-designed vaccine passes WHO test
Context:
- For the first time, a vaccine conceived and developed from scratch in India has been “pre-qualified” by the World Health Organisation.
- While several vaccines from India have been pre-qualified, this is the first that was entirely developed locally and, according to experts, is a sign that there is a credible industrial, scientific and regulatory process in place to develop vaccines in India.
About Rotavac vaccine:
- The Rotavac vaccine, developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech Limited last year, was included in India’s national immunisation programme.
- To be “pre-qualified” means that the vaccine can be sold internationally to several countries in Africa and South America.
- The Rotavac vaccine protects against childhood diarrhoea caused by the rotavirus.
- Some medics have raised concerns that the rotavirus vaccine carried a small chance of causing infants to develop a bowel disorder; but the Rotavac vaccine, having been tested in the field for over a year, have not shown any negative effect.
- The Pune-based Serum International also has developed a rotavirus vaccine called Rabishield that has also been included in India’s immunisation programme.
- Rotavirus is responsible for an estimated 36% of hospitalisations for childhood diarrhoea around the world and for an estimated 200,000 deaths in low- and middle-income countries.
