The Mystery of SARS-CoV-2 Mutations (E)
In this episode of Science for a Self-Reliant India on India Science, we look at the nature of viruses and mutations - specifically in the context of the SARS-Cov2 and the COVID-19 pandemic. We get an in-depth understanding of Genome Sequencing and why it’s importance and finally, we look at the underdevelopment and new indigenous vaccine Corbevax by Hyderabad based pharmaceutical company Biological E. A major challenge that confronts India’s medical and scientific community and indeed the global one in effectively fighting the Covid pandemic is the evolving changes of the Novel Coronavirus. From the day the pandemic began, this virus has undergone thousands of mutations and few of these mutations in certain regions of the world have become more infectious. The changed forms of the virus are also known as mutants or variants. These variants of Coronavirus are driving new surges of Covid-19 across the world. So it is imperative to understand the variants and the mutation they have undergone in order to efficiently check their spread. In this episode of Science for a Self-Reliant India we get a better understanding of these viral mutations and how they occur? We will also see how India is creating a robust network of research laboratories to build an efficient and effective system of tracking and tracing Viral mutations which in-turn is an important part of leveraging Science for a Self-reliant India. We also get an in-depth understanding of Viral Genome sequencing and how it is helping scientists identify SARS-CoV-2 and develop diagnostic tests, vaccines, and other tools for outbreak management. And finally, we take a look at the new indigenous covid vaccine – Corbevax being developed by Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company Biological E and why the Government of India has placed an advance order of 30 Crore vaccine. All this and more only on the India Science OTT platform.
