Oxford COVID Vaccine Possibly First To Get Indian Regulators Nod For Emergency Use

Supported by

With preparations of rolling out the potential vaccine for coronavirus by January, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) may give Serum Institute of India the approval for emergency use authorisation (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’, which is developed by the Jenner Institute (Oxford University) in association with AstraZeneca.

With this, the Oxford vaccine is likely to become the first to be rolled out in India.

Once the UK drug regulator gives its approval, the subject expert committee (SEC) on COVID-19 at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation will hold a meeting to review the safety and immunogenicity data from the clinical evaluations before granting the EUA, LiveMint quoted the sources.

The UK’s approval process may take time, given that the vaccine is still under Phase 3 trials.

Earlier this month, SII, Bharat Biotech and Pfizer had approached the DCGI, seeking EUA for their vaccines. Later, on December 9, the SEC had sought additional information on these potential vaccines’ safety and efficacy.

Last week, the SII submitted additional data required by the DCGI. Reviewing the application, the committee recommended the firm to submit an updated safety and immunogenicity data of Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials in the UK and India, along with the assessment done by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

The data provided by Pfizer was not taken up, as the company had sought more time for making a presentation. Their potential vaccine had been approved by several countries, including the UK, US, and Bahrain.

As of Bharat Biotech’s ‘Covaxin’, the committee recommended that the firm present the safety and efficacy data from the ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial in the country for further consideration.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 national task force held a meeting on Saturday, December 26, over the novel coronavirus’s new strain and discussed the surveillance strategies to contain the infection.

As per the latest updates, over 50 samples of people who have recently returned from the UK to India, are being examined at six labs across the country to find out if they have a new strain.

The task force will also conduct routine genomic surveillance to track different strains of the coronavirus. For the same, nearly 5 per cent of the COVID cases from across the states and UTs are being examined.

The genomic surveillance team called INSACOG has been formed under the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) leadership for laboratory and epidemiological surveillance of coronavirus, NDTV reported.

Also Read: Farmer Leader Gets Death Threat Amid Protest, FIR Lodged

#PoweredByYou We bring you news and stories that are worth your attention! Stories that are relevant, reliable, contextual and unbiased. If you read us, watch us, and like what we do, then show us some love! Good journalism is expensive to produce and we have come this far only with your support. Keep encouraging independent media organisations and independent journalists. We always want to remain answerable to you and not to anyone else.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Featured

Amplified by

P&G Shiksha

P&G Shiksha Turns 20 And These Stories Say It All

Amplified by

Isha Foundation

Sadhguru’s Meditation App ‘Miracle of Mind’ Hits 1 Million Downloads in 15 Hours, Surpassing ChatGPT’s Early Growth

Recent Stories

Dramatic Near-Crash in Indonesia: Batik Air 737 Battles Severe Crosswind, Pilot’s Quick Action Averts Disaster in Jakarta

India’s Human Trafficking Crisis: Meet 3 Real-Life Heroes Leading the Fight to Protect Women and Children

Over 6.2 Lakhs Cars Fined Wrongly On Mumbai-Pune Expressway Due To Camera Glitch, RTI Reveals

Contributors

Writer : 
Editor : 
Creatives :