64 foreign delegates arrive at Hyderabad to visit COVID-19 vaccine facilities

Foreign delegates from more than 60 countries on Wednesday visited a facility of Bharat Biotech which is developing Covaxin, India’s first indigenous vaccine for coronavirus.

The diplomats are on a day-long visit to Hyderabad to see the facilities at the two companies for developing coronavirus vaccines. The envoys first visit at Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and will next visit Biological E. Ltd. Bharat Biotech had started the phase 3 trials earlier in November with 26,000 volunteers across 22 sites in India, making it the largest COVID-19 clinical trial in the country. Bharat Biotech Chairman Krishna Ella gave a power-point presentation about his company and the milestones it had achieved in vaccine production.

The visit by the heads of foreign missions arranged by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is part of India’s efforts to develop partnerships for the manufacture and delivery of vaccines. The first batch of diplomats included envoys from Australia, Denmark, Iran, Bhutan, Brazil, Myanmar, Slovenia, Trinidad & Tobago, South Korea, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, among others. Last month, the diplomats were briefed on the vaccine trials underway in the country and efforts to manufacture and deliver the doses. At both Bharat Biotech and Biological E, the foreign envoys would be told about the progress made so far in the development of the vaccines and the rollout plans by both the companies after their vaccines get the approval from regulators