H1NI vaccine to be ready by Mar-April: Azad
Chandigarh: With swine flu claiming over 470
lives in the country till October-end, the Centre today said
the much-awaited Influenza A-H1N1 vaccine to combat the viral
disease would be ready by March-April next year.
"Private pharmaceutical companies are in the advanced
stage of developing the vaccine and it will be ready by March
or April next year," Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad
said here.
He was addressing the 30th convocation of Post Graduate
Institute of Medical Education and Research which was attended
among others by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Azad said a new department of Health Research had been
created in his Ministry which was engaged in promoting and
developing some new vaccines.
The Minister said the department had been told to develop
low cost testing kits for H1N1 virus and diabetes.
"The road ahead is long and arduous, but together we can
achieve the impossible," he said.
As many as 472 people had succumbed to the swine flu in
India till October-end with the number of those contracting
the infection touching 13,861, according to the Union Health
Ministry.
Bureau Report