India-made Covid-19 vaccine could be launched as early as February

NEW DELHI: An Indian government-backed COVID-19 vaccine could be launched as early as February - months earlier than expected - as last-stage trials begin this month and studies have so far showed it is safe and effective, a senior government scientist told Reuters.

Bharat Biotech, a private company that is developing COVAXIN with the government-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), had earlier hoped to launch it only in the second quarter of next year.

"The vaccine has shown good efficacy," senior ICMR scientist Rajni Kant, who is also a member of its COVID-19 task-force, said at the research body's New Delhi headquarters on Thursday.