healthUpdated: Dec 28, 2020, 21:21 ISTThe first indigenous vaccine against pneumonia, developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII), was launched by Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) would be used to treat pneumonia in children and has been developed by SII in collaboration with other partners like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the statement said. Vardhan said that the vaccine has been developed during the Covid-19 pandemic time and is also in line with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat program (self-reliant India) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also said the vaccine has proven safe during these trials and has prevented pneumonia following which the Drugs Controller General (India) approved the vaccine in July 2020 after the approval from the subject expert committee (SEC). During the launch of the vaccine, the health minister also noted that pneumonia accounts for nearly 1 million deaths worldwide and is the single largest infectious cause of death among children under five years of age.

Source: Hindustan Times December 28, 2020 15:47 UTC