How monkeys were tracked for Covaxin trial
The Hindu
In "Going Viral: Making of Covaxin - The Inside Story", Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr. Balram Bhargava talks about the journey of India's homegrown vaccine.
Twenty Rhesus macaque monkeys, used during trials of Covaxin, were found near Nagpur after they had moved deep inside the forests of Maharashtra losing their usual urban food sources because of the Covid lockdown in 2020, says a new book.
The book also touches upon the intricacies of science and challenges faced by Indian scientists during the fight against COVID-19, from the development of a robust laboratory network, diagnosis, treatment and serosurveys to new technologies and vaccines.
Dr. Bhargava says that it is important to remember that the heroes of Covaxin's success story are not just human ones as 20 monkeys are "partly responsible for the fact that millions of us now have access to a life-saving vaccine".
Around 440 MBBS graduates of 2021 are not required to undergo one year of compulsory rural service as per the bond signed by them while joining the medical course through government-quota seats in 2015 as the High Court of Karnataka has said the law, enacted in 2012 for mandatory rural service, remained unenforced for 10 years as it was published in the official gazette only in July 2022.