India’s 2nd Covid vaccine cleared for human trials

The Drug Controller General of India has approved pharmaceutical firm Zydus Cadila to start Phase I and Phase II human clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine. This is the second vaccine after Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN to get the approval. Drug manufacturers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against the novel coronavirus; a novel virus is one that has never previously been identified in humans, making the task of creating a vaccine that much harder. India, a leading manufacturer of vaccines and generic medicines, is expected to play a key role in this race, with several institutes working on different drugs. There are at least 17 vaccines being tested on humans across the world currently.