The State government will within a week form a committee to look into the modalities of distribution of COVID-19 vaccine, said Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar. The State could have access to the vaccine early in 2021, he said.
He was speaking at a press conference after a meeting with the officials of AstraZeneca, one of the firms involved in research and trial of COVID-19 vaccine. The Minister said that the company, in collaboration with Serum Institute, Pune, has been conducting vaccine trials in the country and has also been conducting trials in collaboration with Oxford University.
When asked if the vaccine would be provided to people in the State free of cost, Dr. Sudhakar said no decision had been made in this regard. “The vaccine is still in the trial stage. Once it is out, our State government would take a decision,” he said. Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan had announced free vaccination for all.
Dr. Sudhakar also said that a technical committee will be formed in collaboration with the Union Health Ministry and the distribution of vaccine will be discussed in the committee.
First phase
He said that frontline health workers, senior citizens, persons with comorbidities, and pregnant and lactating mothers would be vaccinated in the first phase. He said that although the trials were on and those who were administered the vaccine found to have neutralising antibodies, they had evidence only for 56 days. The Minister also said that AstraZeneca was producing the vaccine on a no-profit-no-loss basis.
He said that the State government was also in touch with Bharat Biotech International Ltd., which is conducting trials for Covaxin.
