NEW DELHI – India is ready to release two COVID-19 vaccines within 10 days from January 3, when the drug regulator granted emergency use to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and a homemaker from Bharat Biotech, the Ministry says Health says.
Last week, Singapore became one of the first Asian countries to launch their coronavirus vaccination campaign. Indonesia then on Monday announced plans to begin its inoculation campaign next week. The US – the worst hit country in the world, with more than 20.8 million cases – and the UK have already started vaccinations.
The vaccine developed by Oxford University and the UK-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is being made locally by the Serum Institute of India at Pune, under the name Covishield. The other is called Covaxin, the first native COVID-19 vaccine in the country, and is manufactured by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the state’s Indian Medical Research Council.
“Based on feedback on dry running, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is ready to introduce the COVID-19 vaccine within 10 days” from the date emergency use was approved, the Health Secretary said Federal administration Rajesh Bhushan to a press release Tuesday afternoon, commenting on the recent national verification process of the information technology platform and other devices put out for the planned inclusion of about 300 million of more than 1.3 billion people in the country by July during the first phase of the drive.
His statement means that India could release the vaccine before January 13. Bhushan said the government will make the final decision on the date.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier outlined the agreement for the two vaccines “a sure turning point to strengthen spiritual fighting” against the pandemic. “It would make every Indian proud that the two vaccines that have been licensed for emergency use are made in India! This shows how eager in our scientific community to dream [a self-reliant India], which has a root of care and compassion, “he tweeted on January 3rd.
American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer last month sought an emergency use permit for its vaccine in India. But the Ministry of Health said Pfizer has since been given three opportunities to appear before a committee of experts but has not yet done so. The committee of experts, “as far as we know, is willing to listen to their presentation,” Bhushan said.
Unlike Covishield and Covaxin, which can be stored at temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, the Pfizer vaccine requires a temperature of less than 70.
Covaxin’s approval drew criticism from some opposition experts and leaders as Bharat Biotech has yet to share efficiency data. In response, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that the authority for Covaxin differs from the authority for Covishield in that Covaxin is still in trial mode. “For those who spread rumors let us know that EUA for COVAXIN is in a different situation – in a clinical trial mode,” he tweeted.
He clarified that everyone who receives Covaxin will be followed and tested as in a routine test, tweeting: “The COVAXIN agreement is a ‘Monitored Agreement’ with ongoing rigorous review & rollout. this ensures that India has an extra vaccine wing in its arsenal [especially] against potentially mutant sequences in a dynamic pandemic situation – A strategic decision for our vaccine security. “
In a joint statement Tuesday, Serum Institute chief executive Adar Poonawala and Bharat Biotech chairman and managing director Krishna Ella apparently ended a recent public spat over their vaccines while sending expresses the “collective mission to develop, manufacture and deliver the COVID-19 vaccines for India and worldwide. “
Bhushan was accused of reports of “misinformation” that India had banned the export of the vaccines, saying, “The government has not banned the export of any of the vaccines. COVID vaccines. “
“We should be careful when trying to spread such misinformation,” he said, adding that neither the government nor the vaccine manufacturers are talking about any ban. on export.
India has the second highest incidence of COVID-19 cases in the world, with more than 10.3 million infections to date, just behind the US Among groups identified for first shots are 10 million healthcare providers in the public and private sectors and 20 million other front- line staff, such as the police and armed forces. Another 270 million people over the age of 50, along with anyone with related co-morbidities, are also to be trapped in the first phase of the drive.