Gagandeep Kang claims no compromise in clinical testing of COVID-19 vaccines

Seeking to allay apprehension of folks over security and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, famous clinical scientist Gagandeep Kang mentioned that although vaccines for the coronavirus are being developed in a brief interval of time, there was completely no compromise in their clinical testing.

Ms. Kang, who’s related to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, a worldwide consortium concerned in facilitating vaccine candidates for the novel coronavirus, additionally mentioned that there ought to be equitable COVID-19 vaccine entry globally and domestically.

Known for her inter-disciplinary analysis on transmission, growth and prevention of infections and their sequelae in youngsters in India, Ms. Kang can also be the primary Indian girl to be inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society in London.

Though vaccines for the coronavirus are being developed in a “very short period of time”, all clinical phases of testing are being carried out, she advised PTI in an interview.

“What has changed is the approach to the testing where all steps that used to happen between phases of clinical trials have been cut out, which means regulators are working much longer and harder than they ever have before,” Ms. Kang mentioned.

Everybody is speaking about issues being carried out very quick however “I think it is very important to know what steps we are cutting out and quite frankly, in all of the testing of vaccines that is being done, there is no aspect of testing that is being removed from the development pathway”, she mentioned.

“I think it is very important to understand that there has been absolutely no compromise in clinical testing of COVID-19 vaccines. The only thing that we do not have from these trials, that we might have had otherwise, is the duration of safety follow-up. Generally, we follow up on trials for six months or one year, and generally, we do not find anything extra in the six months or one year,” Ms. Kang mentioned.

Ms. Kang, who was the chief director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) however resigned in July, mentioned that one other factor that’s completely different in the event of COVID-19 vaccines is that clinical trials have been made very giant to get outcomes quicker.

To a query on availability of chilly chain capability to retailer vaccines, she mentioned that equitable entry to COVID-19 vaccines ought to be ensured.

The case shouldn’t be that those that dwell in huge cities, the place there’s higher chilly chain capability, get vaccinated whereas these in rural areas or small cities don’t get it as a result of of lack of storage amenities, Ms. Kang mentioned.

“My worry with all of it is the question of equity, will we end up with a system where we have freezers in big cities and some classes of people can get vaccines, whereas in rural areas or small towns there is no access to these vaccines as cold chain capacity does not exist,” she mentioned.

“Even in the work that we are planning to do with the Lancet Commission, equity is a big part of looking at what services are provided to whom and where, and making sure that where you live and what your socio-economic status is does not determine what kind of services you get,” Ms. Kang mentioned.

The Lancet, a worldwide well being journal, on Friday launched the Lancet Citizens’ Commission on Reimagining India’s Health System, which can work on creating a method for implementing common well being protection (UHC) in India.

The journal and the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University, collectively formulated the fee.

Speaking in regards to the Lancet fee, Ms. Kang mentioned that its goal is to intention for common well being protection to look at all well being issues, to have a look at psychological and bodily well being issues and their options, to make sure that catastrophic well being expenditure doesn’t occur and ensure protection is accessible and inexpensive.

The fee is being led by 4 distinguished well being and enterprise leaders, together with Ms. Kang and CMD Biocon Ltd Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.

“If we think about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have a target of 2030, there is no way we can achieve these goals with the trajectory that we have at the moment. So what we are seeking to do over the next few years is to try and layout a road-map to make sure we are on a better path to achieving the SDGs,” Ms. Kang mentioned.

She mentioned in India, out-of-pocket funds for healthcare proceed to be highest in the world and it’s one of many explanation why many households are pushed into poverty. This sort of “catastrophic health expenditure” really winds up selling additional well being inequities in the system, Ms. Kang mentioned.

“We have a situation where the most vulnerable in our population don’t get services that they want and there is a problem in terms of accountability where the poor are treated as beneficiaries rather than as clients of the system, and there seems to be a lack of trust in the quality of the care that is provided by the healthcare system,” she mentioned.