BENGALURU: The Indian Council for Medical Research’s (ICMR) target to launch a vaccine for COVID-19 by August 15 is “unfeasible” and has raised “unrealistic hopes”, the Indian Academy of Sciences (IASc), a Bengaluru-based scientists’ body said on Sunday. This is in response to the ICMR’s letter where it reportedly said it “envisaged” to launch the vaccine for public use after completing clinical trials.
The IASc said administrative approvals can be fast-tracked, the “scientific processes of experimentation and data collection have a natural time span that cannot be hastened without compromising standards of scientific rigour.”It welcomed the venture by the ICMR and Bharat Biotech India Limited, but said, “IASc strongly believes that the announced deadline is unfeasible.”