Bangladesh, July 8 -- The news gives us tremendous hope that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is aiming to introduce India's first indigenous vaccine against COVID-19 for "public health use" by 15 August 2020 (India's Independence Day). This could be a scientific breakthrough in the global fight against COVID-19. But a lot of questions remain unanswered regarding how we will deliver a safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19 in such a short time, given the reality that the enrolment for the phase-I clinical trial is yet to begin and the enrolment is to be done by 7 July 2020).

Noted infectious diseases expert Dr Ishwar Gilada, who is the President of AIDS Society of India (ASI) and Governing Council member of Internationa...