The Centre on Thursday informed the Parliament that the COVID-19 vaccine will be made available in India by the beginning of 2021.

Addressing the Rajya Sabha over the coronavirus situation in the country, Health Minister Dr. Harshvardhan said that India is also making efforts like other nations and three vaccine candidates are in different phases of clinical trials.

“Three vaccine candidates (Zydus Cadila, Bharat Biotech, and the Serum Institute of India) are in different phases. Under Prime Minister’s guidance, an expert group is looking at it and there is advanced planning in place. We are hopeful that by the start of next year a vaccine will be available in India,” the Health Minister informed the upper house after a total of four hours of debate during the last three days in the Rajya Sabha.

Harshvardhan’s remarks come at a time when India has reported over 50 lakh cases and people are expecting a vaccine at the earliest.

On the criticism that Government made no effort to tackle the pandemic menace at early signals, Harshvardhan stated that the PM, the ministers, and state health ministers have been addressing the situation since January 8 fighting this battle together.

He said that detailed advisories had been circulated even before the first COVID-19 case was detected in India on January 30.

The Union Minister further noted that “extensive contact-tracing was undertaken” with 162 contacts being traced to the first case.

Harshvardhan said the PM has handled Covid-19 “meticulously.” “History will remember Prime Minister Narendra Modi for meticulously monitoring the entire situation himself,” he said.

Responding to Congress MP Anand Sharma’s query on how large number of people was prevented from being infected, Harshvardhan said that six scientific agencies gave scientific data on the basis of which it was stated the 14-29 lakh cases were prevented by the coronavirus lockdown.

While the vaccine candidates undertaken by Zydus Cadila and Bharat Biotech have completed phase 1 of human tests, SII has resumed its trials after getting clearance from the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI).

SII is the manufacturing partner of the vaccine candidate being developed jointly by UK-based pharma giant AstraZeneca and University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute.

The Pune-based company is looking after the human tests being conducted at 17 trial sites across the country.