SII’s application for emergency use approval of Covid vaccine will be considered today.
New Delhi:
Serum Institute of India’s application for emergency use approval for the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and pharma major AstraZeneca will be considered by an expert panel today, sources have told NDTV, hours after the UK gave the same clearance.
Serum Institute’s chief Adar Poonawalla expressed happiness over the decision. “This is a great and encouraging news. We will wait for the final approval from Indian regulators,” he told NDTV.
Last month, Serum Institute, which makes the AstraZeneca vaccine, said a positive late-state trial result would allow it to seek approval by year-end for emergency use of its candidate, before getting approval for full introduction by February or March.
India also expects a government-backed vaccine to be launched as early as February. It is also holding a late-stage trial of Russia’s Sputnik V.
The UK on Wednesday approved the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine for human use, the second coronavirus vaccine to be cleared for rollout in Britain after the Pfize-BioNTech jabs.
The Oxford vaccine, was being evaluated by the British regulator – the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) – after the final cut of data was submitted by the government last week.
The approval by the MHRA means the vaccine is both “safe and effective” and the UK government’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that the National Health Service (NHS) will prioritise giving the first of the two-dose vaccine to those in the most high-risk groups quickly.
“It is truly fantastic news – and a triumph for British science – that the vaccine has been approved for use. We will now move to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will issue updated advice for the priority groups to receive the new vaccine, which is similar in requiring two doses but is easier to deliver as it does not need extremely low temperatures for storage as in the case of the Pfizer-BioNTech jabs.
It is also cheap and easy to mass produce and is set to significantly enhance the UK’s vaccination programme against the deadly virus.
