Chandigarh: Need to draw lessons from Covid-19 to prepare for future pandemics, says Dr VK Paul
While addressing 63 professionals gathered to attend fourth Postgraduate International Vaccinology Course, Dr Vinod Kumar Paul, member of NITI Aayog, focussed on drawing lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic and preparing for future pandemics.
The course is being organised by the department of community medicine and school of public health of PGIMER. In the inaugural ceremony, connecting through video call, Dr Paul highlighted the Indian journey of building Covid-19 vaccine and how India navigated through the pandemic in his keynote address.
He said, 'During Covid-19, the vaccine was developed in about 9 months globally and we were in step the global time, but next time around it has to be developed within 100 days of the pandemic being declared. For that we have to work hard today. You need to keep your clinical trials ready, study immune response, biology of potential pathogens, keep the labs ready and create capacity within the industry.'
He added, 'During Covid-19 pandemic, nobody came to our rescue, there were hardly any vaccines to be offered to India. We survived because we produced our home vaccines, we survived because we had the capabilities.'
Dr Paul emphasised on delivering the vaccine within 100 days whenever the pandemic like situation occurs in future. Dr Rajeev Raghuvanshi, drug controller general of India, delivered the address emphasising the importance of innovation, regulation, and India's leadership in vaccine research.
The five-day academic event aims to be a transformative learning experience, equipping participants with advanced knowledge and practical insights in the field of vaccinology.
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