V-P asks Centre to set up vaccine test, certification lab in Hyderabad

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu urged the Centre to consider the Telangana government’s request to set up a vaccine testing and certification lab in Hyderabad.

Naidu spoke to the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan today and highlighted the the request made by the State’s IT Minister KT Rama Rao to the Union Health Minister in this regard. Rao, in a letter to the Union Health Minister pointed out that Hyderabad was manufacturing over six billion doses annually and contributes to about one-third of global vaccines production.

The Union Minister assured the Vice President that he would consider the request. He also informed the Vice President that there were seven vaccine testing and certification laboratories in the world, including the one at Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh, and that an accreditation would be required from an international body for such a facility, according to a statement.