Zydus Cadila’s three-dose vaccine may soon be approved in India. The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the regulatory body has recommended its approval.
News18 has given this information. Indigenous company Cadila Healthcare Ltd had applied for emergency use approval for its vaccine ZyCoV-D on July 1. In the Phase III trial conducted on 28,000 people, this vaccine has been found to be 66.6 per cent effective.
Company claims – Vaccine is safe even for children
Cadila also claims that its vaccine is safe for children and adolescents aged 12-18 years. However, their trial data has not yet been peer-reviewed. After getting approval, this will be the sixth vaccine to be allowed for use in India and the second indigenous vaccine after Covaxin. The company has developed this vaccine in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology, the Government of India and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The company had told that within two months of getting approval, it can launch this vaccine in the market. This vaccine can be stored for three months at a temperature of 2-8 °C.
The special feature of the Zydus Cadila vaccine is that it does not require a needle injection. This will be an intradermal injection, which is easy to apply. Explain that intradermal injections are those, which are injected into the skin rather than into the muscle. Because of this, the pain caused while getting the vaccine also reduces. Unlike the vaccines that have been approved in India, three doses of this vaccine will be needed.
The second dose of the Zydus vaccine will be given on the 28th day of the first dose and the third dose on the 56th day. The company is also working on a two-dose vaccine. For this, the regulatory body has asked for additional data.
What is the status of the vaccination campaign in the country?
Talking about the world’s largest vaccination campaign going on in the country, so far 57,22,81,488 doses of the vaccine have been administered. 54,71,282 doses were applied on the last day. According to the Ministry of Health, so far 44,44,86,031 people have been given both doses of the vaccine and 12,77,95,457 people in the country. The government has set a target to vaccinate the entire adult population by December, which is looking very difficult at the current pace.