Expert panel approves Bharat Biotech's indigenous vaccine covexin

(PTI) New Delhi, Ta. Saturday, January 2, 2020

The country has received another gift on the second day of the new year in the fight against the Koro epidemic. An expert panel of the Central Drug Standards Control Organization (CDSCO) on Saturday approved Corona's first indigenous vaccine, Bharat Biotech's covacin, for emergency use. It will now be sent to the Drug Controller General of India for final approval.

A nationwide vaccination rehearsal was held on Saturday to make the corona vaccination a success. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Dr. Harshvardhan said that in the first phase, 30 million frontline warriors in the country will be vaccinated free of cost. Everyone is considering a free vaccine.

The CDSO's expert panel on Friday recommended that the Covishield of the Serum Institute be granted conditions for limited emergency use, according to news agency PTI.

Now the panel has also given conditional approval for limited emergency use of the indigenous covacaine corona vaccine, co-developed by Bharat Biotech and ICMR. Both the vaccines have been sent to the Drug Controller General of India, the country's drug control body, for final approval. The corona vaccine will be given to people across the country after the corona vaccine is approved by the DCGI.

Covacin antibodies can last for six to 12 months

Corona vaccine Covishield has been developed by scientists at Oxford University and the world's leading pharma company AstraZeneca and will be manufactured by the Serum Institute in India. On the other hand, India Biotech and ICMR have jointly developed the indigenous corona vaccine Covexin.

In the first phase of India Biotech vaccination, volunteers were found to have antibodies and T-cells for three months after being vaccinated, PTI said in a report. Studies have also shown that antibodies to this vaccine can last for six to 12 months.

No hurdles in vaccination rehearsals: Ministry

With hopes of making the corona vaccine available in the country, the government held a nationwide vaccination rehearsal on Saturday to make the vaccination program a success and check the obstacles to the actual implementation of the program. Vaccination rehearsals were held at three locations in Delhi, four each in Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat.

The Union Ministry of Health said that there were no major hurdles in vaccination rehearsals in most of the states in the country and all the states expressed confidence in operational guidelines and IT platforms for the implementation of the vaccination program at a comprehensive level. During the rehearsal, the district administration and the team of doctors carried out activities related to uploading data of dummy beneficiaries, setting up session site, allotment of vaccines, giving vaccine information to the beneficiaries and transport of vaccines.

Rumors spread even during polio vaccination: Harshvardhan

Reviewing the rehearsal of the vaccination program in Delhi, Dr. Harshvardhan appealed to the people not to be misled by speculation and misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. He said people should avoid spreading false rumors about Corona. There were also rumors circulating during the polio vaccination campaign. However, people have been vaccinated against polio and the result is that India is a polio-free country.

The ministry also made necessary preparations on the issue of side effects of the vaccine

The health minister said the corona vaccine would be given free to all people in the country. However, he later disclosed that at present, 30 million Front Warriors will be vaccinated free of cost in the first phase, which will include 10 million health workers and 20 million frontline workers.

A decision will be taken on how the 270 million people on the other priority list will be vaccinated against corona by July. Harshvardhan added that the whole process today is like a real vaccination campaign. Only people are not getting the original vaccine. The Ministry of Health is also making necessary preparations for any side effects after vaccination.

According to the health ministry, health workers from private and government hospitals will be vaccinated first. Frontline workers will then be vaccinated. People over the age of 50 will then be vaccinated. The vaccine will then be given to people under the age of 50 but suffering from a serious illness.

Clinical trials of six vaccines are underway in the country

India is the only country to produce four corona vaccines simultaneously

In India, the Oxford-AstraZeneca corona vaccine Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covacin vaccine have been approved by an expert panel for emergency use. At such a time, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that India is probably the only country in the world where four corona vaccines are being prepared simultaneously.

Covishield of Serum Institute was approved by an expert panel for emergency use on Friday while Covexin of Bharat Biotech was conditionally approved on Saturday. In addition to these two vaccines, a third phase trial of Zykov-D vaccine is being conducted by Cadila Healthcare in Ahmedabad.

Cadila has also applied to allow emergency use of the vaccine. At the same time, the NVX-Cove 2372 vaccine is being developed by the Serum Institute in collaboration with Novamax. In addition, Biological E Ltd. in Hyderabad in collaboration with MIT USA. Is also developing a vaccine. Pune-based Geneva Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. in association with US HDT. But the corona vaccine is evolving.