SECTION A THE NEW VIRUS: ARRIVAL OF COVID-19

COVID-19 is a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic, following a report of a cluster of cases of ‘viral pneumonia’ in Wuhan, People’s Republic of China. With the arrival of the new virus, utter chaos spread across the countries, and in no time, the world witnessed one of the deadliest pandemics in human history. This section will tell the story of the virus, with special emphasis on COVID 19.

SECTION B DESIGNING A NEW VACCINE

A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active immunity against a particular infectious disease. While the vaccine vial may look like a colourless liquid, a lot goes into making it. This section will give a brief overview of the vaccine, with a special emphasis on the procedures being followed in our country to make the vaccine against COVID-19 during this pandemic.

Section C TRIALS, RESULTS AND APPROVALS

Clinical trials played a vital role in ascertaining the safety and efficacy of the candidate vaccines. Unlike traditional trials, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the process was fast- tracked without cutting corners. This resulted in the development of vaccines at pandemic speed. But what kind of challenges were faced during this process? Explore this section to learn more about it.

SECTION D SCALING UP AND MASS PRODUCTION

Scaling up vaccine production from beakers to bioreactors is critical for inoculating the global population against disease. In most instances, vaccine development begins in a small beaker on a lab bench, which must be rapidly scaled up—initially to meet the requirements of clinical trials and subsequently, when approved, to immunise billions of people.

Visit this section to know about special equipment like bioreactors and how Indian companies like the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech play a crucial role in vaccine manufacturing on a large scale.

SECTION E VACCINE ROLLOUT

Vaccinating a population of 1.35 billion people was never an easy task. However, we carried out the World’s largest COVID 19 vaccination program with success and completed 200 crores vaccine milestone within a short span of just 547 days. But how was this accomplished? Explore this section and know the details of this mammoth exercise.

SECTION F LIVING WITH COVID-19

COVID-19 may never go away from our society. It may remain as an endemic. But this pandemic has taught us many things that we would have never thought to experience in our lives. We have seen people suffer, deal with a shortage of supplies, and lose loved ones. But human endeavour has helped tackle this pandemic. Numerous innovations done during this period are going to help us in the days to come. Visit this section to check out the interesting innovations that took place during this time.