News:India and the U.S have decided to work together on vaccine research and testing for COVID-19 under the Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program(VAP).
Facts:
- The Indo-US Vaccine Action Programme(VAP) is a bilateral programme established in 1987.
- Aim: To develop and evolve joint R&D projects towards development of safe and efficacious vaccines against some of the major communicable diseases that presently take a large toll in India & USA.
- Nodal Agencies: U.S. National Institutes of Health, Indian Department of Biotechnology(DBT) and Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) along with other partners.
Additional Facts:
Global Vaccine Action Plan(GVAP):
- It is a framework adopted at the 65th World Health Assembly in 2012 to achieve the vision of the Decade of Vaccines 2011-2020(DoV).
- Aim: To prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through more equitable access to existing vaccines for people in all communities.
