Amid concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) strain in India, AIIMS Delhi Director Dr. Randeep Guleria said that the approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the The UK was a “big step forward” and India was days away from achieving it. a vaccine.
“It is very good news that AstraZeneca has obtained approval for its vaccine from the UK regulatory authorities. They have solid data and in India, the Serum Institute of India (SII) is developing the same vaccine. This is a great step forward not only for India but for many parts of the world, ”Guleria told ANI in an interview.
“This vaccine can be stored between two and eight degrees centigrade. Therefore, it would be easy to store and transport. Storage can be done using a simple refrigerator instead of what is required in the Pfizer vaccine of minus 70 degrees Celsius, ”he said. “We vaccinate children and pregnant women as part of our universal immunization program. Using the same platform to store vaccines between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius, it will be easier for us to store Covid-19 vaccines, “he added.
“We now have data and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved based on studies in the UK, Brazil and South Africa. There is also data from SII. I think once the data is shown to the regulatory authority, we should get approval for the vaccine in the county in a few days. I would say days instead of weeks or months, “he said.
Meanwhile, Pune-based SII has sought emergency approval for the vaccine, Covishield, developed in conjunction with global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. Company CEO Adar Poonawalla said Monday that Covishield is expected to launch in January and that between 40 and 50 million doses of the vaccine have already been in stock.
This comes in the context of Covid-19 cases in the country that crossed the 10.22 million mark on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Health website, there are 262,272 active cases of Covid-19 and so far 98,341.41 people have recovered from the disease. Up to 148,439 have lost their lives due to the infection.
(with ANI inputs)
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