Feluda paper strip test to be out in few weeks

New Delhi, October 11

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan today said the indigenously developed Feluda paper strip test for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis could be rolled out over the next few weeks.

“While I cannot put an exact date on the availability, we should expect this test within the next few weeks,” he said during an online interaction. Named after the renowned detective created by Satyajit Ray, the test was developed by Tata CRISPR and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology.

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Vardhan said the exposure risk and co-morbidities would determine the prioritisation of groups for administration of Covid vaccine, dispelling apprehensions that youngsters and working class people would get preference in inoculation for economic reasons.

He said one vaccine would not suffice India’s needs and the government was open to introducing several vaccines. He said emergency-use authorisation of vaccines was still being debated and adequate safety and efficacy data was required before a decision could be taken. — TNS