After having been faced with the outbreak of the COVID-19 Novel Corona Virus Pandemic, the entire world is waiting with bated breath for the vaccine candidates which would finally put an end to the spread of this deadly Virus. Though Russia has already registered two vaccines for the Corona Virus, they are yet to be universally accepted by the medical fraternity, as they have not yet completed the all-important Phase 3 clinical trials. Meanwhile, there are a number of other vaccine candidates which are close to the end of their Phase 3 trials and if approved, can go into production, soon! One such candidate is the Covishield vaccine, which is being jointly developed by AstraZeneca and the Oxford University. 

This vaccine has been going by many names actually, including the "Oxford Vaccine" and "AZ1222". Now, the Serum Institute of India (SII), one of the largest manufacturer of vaccines in the world, has revealed that this Covishield is the most advanced among all vaccines in the human testing stage, happening in India. The SII has a tie-up with the manufacturers of Covishield and they have been conducting the Phase 3 clinical trials for this candidate, in India. Now, we also hear that SII has gone ahead and finished manufacturing 40 million doses of Covishield, after seeing the progress it has made, during the Phase 3 trials. A statement issued by SII states, "Covishield is by far the most advanced vaccine in human testing in India."

Sources reveal that the people at SII believe Covishield to be the answer to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. We also hear reports that SII, the Covishield manufacturers and the Indian Council of Medical Research are looking at an option of applying for emergency approval from the authorities, for an opportunity to make the Covishield vaccine available to the Indian masses, far earlier than normal. SII's CEO - Adar Poonawalla had earlier announced that among all the vaccines being manufactured by the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, 50% would be made available to the people of India and only the remaining 50% would be exported to the rest of the world! Stay tuned for updates.