CCMB, Two Other CSIR Labs Jointly Working On Three Varied Potential Covid-19 Vaccine Platforms

Three CSIR laboratories are jointly working on varied platforms to develop potential vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.

Rakesh Mishra, director of CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biolgoy (CCMB) on Thursday said that the institute is working with two other CSIR labs in Kolkata and Chandigarh to develop potential Covid-19 vaccines, reports The Hindu.

Mishra said that the platforms that CCMB and other CSIR labs have been developing are slightly different from the vaccines currently under testing in the country. These vaccines will be based on 'pseudo virus' and 'pre-processed proteins', the CCMB director said.

"We are now testing them on mice, if they are responsive, we will give the technology to Aurobindo Pharma for making of vaccines,” Mishra was quoted as saying during the launch of ‘CoronaAID’ food supplement.

However, the CCMB director cautioned that an 'effective' vaccine against Covid-19 could be months or years away and even after the vaccine is launched, it could take months to vaccinate the 1.30 billion people across the country.

He further said that the efficacy of any vaccine could only be assessed over a course of time of several months or couple of years as it's effectiveness on people of different age groups cannot be predicted.

He also emphasised on the need for wearing a face mask, maintaining social distancing and practicing hand hygiene for safety against the Covid-19 virus.