Vaccine Research and Development in India for COVID-19 and Influenza

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated that respiratory viruses can cause immense loss of lives and livelihoods. India is the home to some of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturers and has successfully vaccinated a large fraction of its population to protect against COVID-19 disease caused by the sarbecovirus, SARS-CoV-2. However, much of this was reliant on formulations developed elsewhere, and before vaccines could be widely deployed, a large fraction of the population was infected. There is a clear need to develop and nurture indigenous expertise to design, develop, and rapidly produce efficacious vaccines against respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus.