Hyderabad: Dr. K. V. Rao Scientific Society’s 24th Annual Science Awards presented

Dr. K.V. Rao Scientific Society has been involved in promoting science by spotting and recognising talent at the school and university levels for the past 24 years.

Hyderabad: A vaccine takes 10 long years to be developed but during a crisis like a pandemic, it was developed in just ten and half months, said Prof. (Dr.) Priya Abraham, Senior Professor, Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore and Former Director, National Institute of Virology, Pune.

Delivering the KV Rao Memorial Oration at Dr. K.V. Rao Scientific Society’s 24thAnnual Science Awards here, Dr. Priya who was part of the ICMR team that developed the Covaxin vaccine, dwelt upon the arduous task of developing the first Indigenous antibody detection assay (Kavach ELISA) which was used in the four national serosurveys for Covid-19 and the collaboration with industry in making a candidate vaccine.

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Speaking on ‘The Making of an Indigenous COVID Vaccine and More’, Dr Priya said only 27 per cent of the population has taken a booster dose which was not good. “Everyone must take the booster dose. In my capacity, I have been pushing the government to bring the vaccines back into the market and encourage more to take booster doses,” she said.

Dr. K.V. Rao Scientific Society has been involved in promoting science by spotting and recognising talent at the school and university levels for the past 24 years. During the event, 24th Annual Research Awards, 19th School Talent Awards, 13th SPARK Innovation Awards and 4th SMART (Science Meets ART) Awards, were presented. Partho Pratim Kar, Joint Managing Director, Jaykay Enterprises Limited, also participated.