Emergency usage approval applications for coronavirus vaccines submitted by the Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech, and Pfizer will be taken up again today by a panel of experts appointed by the government.
Serum Institute that produces the ‘Covishield’ vaccine developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech, which collaborated with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for its’ Covaxin ‘on Wednesday, made presentations before the panel. Pfizer was looking for more time to present its results.
The applications will be forwarded to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for final approval once the vaccines have been approved by the expert panel. Starting this month, the government wants to begin handling the shots.
The meeting today comes a day before a dry run in all states for vaccinations. At an event on Thursday, Drug Controller General Dr. VG Somani said, “Probably we will have a happy New Year with something in hand. That is what I can hint at”
India, which has the world’s second-highest number of COVID-19 infections after the U.S., plans to inoculate 30 crore individuals in the next six to eight months, and its best hope is the affordable Oxford vaccine.
While a purchasing agreement with the Serum Institute has not yet been signed by the Indian government, the company says it will concentrate first on its home market and then exports, especially to South Asian countries and Africa.
Around 50 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot have already been developed by the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and he plans to scale it up to 100 million by March next year, Mr. Poonawalla said on Monday.
The UK approved the Oxford University-AstraZeneca human-use vaccine earlier this week, the second coronavirus vaccine to be cleared for rollout in Britain following the Pfizer-BioNTech jabs.
Covishield is close to needing two doses, like the Pfizer-BioNTech jabs, but it is simpler to administer as it does not require exceptionally low storage temperatures. It is inexpensive and easy to mass-produce as well.
Bharat Biotech’s vaccine candidate, Covaxin, proved to be safe and activated immune responses in an ongoing early-stage trial and is currently part of a late-stage trial.
