Devyani Madaik
A media enthusiast, Devyani believes in learning on the job and there is nothing off limits when it comes to work. Writing is her passion and she is always ready for a debate as well.
Congratulations India! DCGI Approves Serum's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin For Emergency Use
With this, India is all set to get at least two vaccines in the next few days.
India | 3 Jan 2021 6:31 AM GMT / Updated : 2021-01-03T13:42:00+05:30
The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on Sunday, January 3, approved Bharat Biotech's coronavirus vaccine 'Covaxin', and Oxford-AstraZeneca's 'Covishield' manufactured by Serum Institute of India for restricted emergency use authorisation (EUA).
The DCGI, in a press conference, on Sunday said that it accepted the recommendations of Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) that approved the restricted emergency use of both the vaccines earlier this week.
With this, India is all set to get at least two vaccines in the next few days. As of now, Bharat Biotech is conducting Phase-3 clinical trials of Covaxin and has successfully recruited 23,000 volunteers. The Phase-3 human clinical trials of Covaxin began mid-November.
Bharat Biotech is targeting 26,000 volunteers and it is the country's first and only Phase-3 efficacy study for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Soon after the DCGI nod, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to congratulate the Pune based Serum Institute and Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech and thank the scientists who were working to achieve the feat.
PM Modi further thanked the doctors, police, sanitation and medical staff and other frontline workers, and hailed them as Corona warriors.
Serum institute CEO, Adar Poonawalla also thanked the government and PM Modi for their support and informed that the COVISHIELD vaccine will be rolled out in coming weeks.
The approval of vaccines comes in the light of the infection by mutant strains of the virus that first emerged in the United Kingdom. India has reported more than 20 cases of the new strain.
Ten cases of the mutant strain have been detected in Delhi, 10 in Bengaluru, one in West Bengal, three in Hyderabad, and five in National Institute of Virology, Pune.
On December 29, when over 20 cases of the new strain were reported, Bharat Biotech asserted that Covaxin would be effective on the contagious mutant strain as well. Chairman and Managing Director Krishna Ella said that the vaccine's protein components would take care of the mutations of the virus SARS-CoV-2.
Also Read: Expert Panel Approves Emergency Use Of Bharat Biotech's COVID Vaccine, Drug Regulator's Nod Awaited
Contributors
Shubhendu Deshmukh
Shubhendu, the quint essential news junky, the man who loves science and politics in equal measure and offers the complete contrast to it by being a fan of urdu poetry as well.
Abhishek M
" An engineer by profession, Abhishek is the creative producer of the team, graphic designing is his passion and travelling his get away. In more ways than one, he makes the content visually appealing."
Next Story