India Approves First Two Corona Virus Vaccines for Emergency Use

The health officials in India have approved two COVID-19 vaccines, including one made by AstraZeneca, for emergency use. The just-approved vaccines are the one developed by Bharat Biotech International Ltd., a domestic vaccine manufacturer, as well as one developed by British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford.

The global tally of cases of the coronavirus disease has topped 85 million with more than 1.8 million deaths, the Johns Hopkins University tracker shows. Though vaccination drives are underway in several countries, on Sunday, India also approved the roll out of COVID-19 vaccines and immunization drive. On the context, India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, said on Twitter “A decisive turning point to strengthen a spirited fight”.

In announcing the emergency use, VG Somani, DCGI Chief, said the vaccines were “110 percent safe”. He also added a cautionary note that side effects like mild fever, pain & allergy are common for every vaccine.

AstraZeneca’s manufacturing partner, Serum Institute of India, will work to produce its drug locally, according to CEO Adar Poonawalla. AstraZeneca’s drug is called Covishield in India.

AstraZeneca’s manufacturing partner, Serum Institute of India, will work to produce its drug locally

The UK on Wednesday became the first country to approve AstraZeneca’s vaccine for emergency use. The company has reportedly increased production, with the goal of producing two million doses per week. Although the drugs were approved for emergency use, they haven’t finished clinical trials, the government said. Phase 3 trials for Bharat’s drug, Covaxin, are underway with about 20,000 volunteers in 26 hospitals.

Somani said in a statement that Covaxin, the inactivated coronavirus vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the government-run Indian Council of Medical Research, “is safe and provides a robust immune response”. The overall efficacy of Covishield, the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot locally produced by Serum Institute of India, was 70.42 percent, he added. The vaccine producer has reportedly stockpiled 75 million doses already. Both vaccines are administered in two doses and have to be stored at 2 C to 8 C, Somani said.

India, with a population of over 1.3 billion, has the world’s second most coronavirus cases after the United States with 10.3 million confirmed cases. It has the third most coronavirus-related deaths after the United States and Brazil. India plans to vaccinate 300 million people by July. That will include 30 million healthcare and frontline workers. The country has been hard hit by COVID-19. About 149,435 people have died from it in India, according to figures from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.