Bengaluru: Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar interacted with Prof Govindan Rangarajan, the director of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to seek the premier science institute's support in battling Covid-19 pandemic.
During the interaction, Rangarajan apprised the Minister about various researches that are being carried out by Scientists at IISc including designing a more efficient oxygen concentrator and also the vaccine for Covid-19 which can be stored at room temperature up to 30 degree Celcius.
IISc has developed an oxygen concentrator of 10 LPM capacity which is being tested for its clinical validation at Bangalore Medical College. Rangarajan said that the results have been promising and claimed that the oxygen output is about 90% and hence more efficient compared to the Chinese concentrators whose output is about 40-50%.
He sought the support of the Minister to expedite the process of clinical validation and also help in obtaining regulatory approval from Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for its emergency use. Sudhakar assured all necessary support from the government and said he will take up the matter immediately with RGUHS Vice-Chancellor and concerned Union Ministers.
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Rangarajan also apprised the minister about the ongoing efforts at IISc to develop a vaccine for Covid-19. The vaccine being developed by IISc is promising as the results show a better neutralising effect than the existing vaccines. This vaccine which is yet to begin the human trial process could be a big breakthrough in India's battle against pandemic as the vaccine can be stored at room temperatures up to 30℃. From a public health point of view, this is a huge advantage as it enables the government to scale up the distribution of vaccines in a much faster and easier way.
The Health Minister sought IISc's help in developing an audit mechanism and finding ways for optimal utilisation of oxygen and minimise wastage at both refilling/bottling units and at hospitals. Rangarajan assured the Minister to extend all technical and engineering support to address this issue.
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