India is on the Precipice of Launching a Vaccine

While the world is looking for a COVID-19 vaccine, coronavirus cases are surging. In the United States, more than 100,000 cases were reported on the day after election day. India is also seeing a robust number of cases that have increased to more than 50,000 per day. The number of new cases in India are second only to the United States, but it appears that help is on the way. An Indian backed company Bharat Biotech is developing a COVID vaccine. While US companies that have benefited from share trading like Pfizer, have benefited from the frenzy to find a COVID vaccine, less well know companies are making headway.

Help is on the Way

It appears that 2021 will bring a new vaccine to India. A government-backed company named Bharat Biotech is poised to launch a COVID vaccine in India as early as February well before it was expected to move forward. The company is moving forward in November with last-stage trials begin and the results so far show that the vaccine is safe and effective. The vaccine is being developed in conjunction with the Indian Council of Medical Research and initially, it was expected to launch in the Q2 of 2021. If the development of the vaccine continues at its current pace the product named COVAXIN will be the first coronavirus vaccine rolled out in India. Above 50,000 and have reached 8.36 million, second only to the United States. It appears that the Indian Council of Medical Research is willing to move forward with an injection before the third trial is over.

There are Several Global Candidate

There are several companies globally that are racing to provide a vaccine to populations that require protecting themselves against COVID-19. An experimental vaccine developed by Britain’s AstraZeneca is among the most advanced and it is expected to be released early. The company believes that it will be able to provide a vaccine in late December or early 2021. AstraZeneca has signed several supply-and-manufacturing deals with companies and governments around the world, including with the Serum Institute of India. Other companies such as Moderna Inc, Pfizer Inc with partner BioNTech SE, as well as Johnson & Johnson.

The Virus is Out of Control in the US

Across the United States, are reporting record numbers of new COVID cases. The nation’s seven-day moving average of newly reported cases, rose to 89,859 on the day after election day, the latest in a series of record highs. The 14-day moving average was 81,985. When the seven-day average is higher than the 14-day average, the trend in the number of cases is on the rise.

The Bottom Line
COVID cases are continuing to spread and both hospitalization and deather are likely to follow. While many countries and companies are poised to release vaccines, it appears that an Indian company in conjunction with the government is poised to release a vaccine as early as the Q1 of 2021 ahead of schedule. Several US and UK companies are expected to release vaccines either in December or in the Q1 of 2021 that have distribution deals in India. The vaccines in India could not come soon enough as COVID continues to spread throughout Indian and the rest of the globe.