India all set to receive 2 more COVID-19 vaccines soon

Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila is all set to seek emergency use authorisation (EUA) for its maiden DNA-plasmid vaccine that can be inoculated in individuals above the age of 12. However, it will depend upon the decision taken by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) once the Ahmedabad-based vaccine maker applies for approval.

‘The data analysis from the phase 3 trials is almost ready. The company may soon seek EUA for its vaccine,’ a government official said.

Zydus vaccine is ‘needle-free’. Keeping in mind that the children are scared of needles, Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D vaccine would reportedly be administered through a Needle-Free Injection System (NFIS). A high-speed jet of fluid accelerated enough to penetrate the skin. The vaccine is also reportedly stable at room temperatures.

As per reports, Novovax was shown to be 90 per cent effective. Novovax, developed by a US-based biotechnology firm in collaboration with Pune’s Serum Institute of India, was found 90 per cent effective in a clinical trial involving 30,000 people. Reports suggested that vaccinated people were fully protected against severe and moderate cases of COVID-19.

Serum Institute, on its own too, has started the trials across 15 centers since May 2021, to demonstrate similar effectiveness of the version of Novovax vaccine candidate it wants to launch. The serum will call its Novovax version Covovax in India.

Covovax is likely to push beyond the third quarter of the current financial year (July-August). However, the fact that Novovax trials have resulted in 90 per cent efficacy in the US and Mexico, also point out that Covovax may become amongst the most effective India-made vaccine once it is launched.

As per the data compiled by the Oxford University on global vaccinations, a total of 2.33 billion doses have been inoculated in the populations worldwide, equalling 30 doses per 100 people. With over 25 Crore vaccine doses administered, India has 19 people out of every 100 individuals who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.