Context: Recently,India has volunteered to participate in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) ongoing solidarity trial for developing vaccines for Covid-19.
About the event of WHO

• It with its partners is organizing a study called the solidarity trial in many countries in which some of the untested treatments are compared with each other.
• The study has been designed to generate the robust data needed to show which treatments are the most effective.
• WHO’s multi-country solidarity trials aims to isolate drugs approved by regulators for other diseases that can be utilised in the Covid-19 fight.

Efforts of India

• Earlier we did not do it because our numbers were so small and contribution would have looked minuscule.
• Vaccine development wasn’t a priority for Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) currently because there are around 30 vaccine groups already in operation worldwide.
• Keeping in view the rising number of cases and challenges faced by India, the government has decided to participate in the solidarity trial.

About Solidarity Trail

• The Solidarity Trial will test four different drugs or combinations — remdesivir, a combination of two drugs, lopinavir and ritonavir, the two drugs plus interferon beta, and chloroquine.
• And will compare their effectiveness to what is called standard of care, the regular support hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.

Challenges faced by India

• Most medical devices are shipped through international passenger flights. 
• However, with flight restrictions in place, such shipments have to solely depend on cargo flights. 
• As a result of this, cargo clearances have slowed down and a huge backlog is witnessed at customs. 
• Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI), which represents research-based medical technology companies that have a large footprint in manufacturing, R&D and healthcare worker training in India, is in constant engagement with the government to tackle the current COVID-19 situation in India.

Indian Scientists’ Response to CoViD-19 (ISRC)

• It is a voluntary group of scientists who regularly discuss the rapidly evolving situation with its dire need for science communication.
• With nearly 200 members, the group has scientists from institutions such as the NCBS, the IISc, the TIFR, the IITs, the IISERs and many others.
• The group aims to study existing and available data to bring out analyses that will support the Central, State and local governments in carrying out their tasks.
• This platform works through two channels — phone and WhatsApp to connect people in need with those who can provide help.