Hyderabad: “A vaccine typically takes 10 years to develop, but during a crisis like a pandemic, it was created in just ten and a half months,” said Prof. (Dr.) Priya Abraham, Senior Professor at Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, and Former Director of the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
Delivering the KV Rao Memorial Oration at the 24th Annual Science Awards of the Dr. K.V. Rao Scientific Society, Dr. Priya, who was part of the ICMR team that developed the Covaxin vaccine, discussed the challenging process of developing the first Indigenous antibody detection assay (Kavach ELISA). This assay was used in four national serosurveys for COVID-19 and involved collaboration with industry to create a candidate vaccine.
Speaking on “The Making of an Indigenous COVID Vaccine and More,” Dr. Priya emphasized that only 27 percent of the population has taken a booster dose, which is insufficient. “Everyone must take the booster dose. In my capacity, I have been pushing the government to reintroduce the vaccines to the market and encourage more people to get booster doses,” she said.
For the past 24 years, the Dr. K.V. Rao Scientific Society has been promoting science by identifying and recognizing talent at both school and university levels. During the event, the 24th Annual Research Awards, 19th School Talent Awards, 13th SPARK Innovation Awards, and 4th SMART (Science Meets ART) Awards were presented. Partho Pratim Kar, Joint Managing Director of Jaykay Enterprises Limited, also participated.
