Sanjay KumarScience's COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center.NEW DELHI—The apparent speed at which an Indian government agency aims to test and approve a homegrown COVID-19 vaccine has created an uproar among scientists both in India, which is increasingly overwhelmed by the new coronavirus, and abroad.
A letter leaked on Twitter on Friday suggests the first vaccines could be rolled out by 15 August, which would leave far too little time for proper testing, critics say.
The Indian Academy of Sciences calls the timeline “unreasonable and without precedent.” Six Indian companies are developing vaccines against COVID-19.