A government panel of experts reportedly approved the vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, for emergency use in India to provide immunity against coronavirus disease (Covid-19). According to the Reuters news agency, a committee of experts in the field, created by the Comptroller General of Drugs of India (DCGI) to examine the Covid-19 vaccine proposals, recommended granting an emergency use authorization to the vaccine AZD1222 from AstraZeneca, nicknamed Covishield in India.
AstraZeneca had signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to produce 1 billion doses of its experimental vaccine for low- and middle-income countries. The Pune-based company has applied for an emergency use authorization for the Covid-19 vaccine, which recently received approval from British regulators.
Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) authorized the deployment of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine across the UK on Wednesday with the conditions that the vaccine must be administered in two doses, with the second dose between 4 and 12 weeks after the first. .
This is everything you need to know about the vaccine:
Effectiveness: In two different dosage regimens, the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine showed an efficacy of 90% and 62%. In participants who received two full doses at least one month apart, the vaccine efficacy was 62%, and in participants who received a low dose followed by a full dose, the efficacy was 90%.
Safety: Publication by The Lancet, a leading medical journal, has confirmed that AZD1222 was well tolerated and no serious vaccine-related safety events were confirmed. The published safety data is from more than 20,000 participants, so far, enrolled in four clinical trials in the UK, Brazil and South Africa.
Read also | Government Expert Panel Approves AstraZeneca / Oxford Covid-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use
Storage: AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine can be stored, transported and handled under normal refrigeration conditions (2 ° C to 8 ° C) for at least six months.
cost: Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of SII, told the Hindustan Times that Covidshield will be priced in India at Rs 500-600.
Technology: AZD1222 is made from a weakened and modified version of adenovirus (a common cold virus) that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material for the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. After vaccination, the surface spike protein is produced, which prepares the immune system to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus if it later infects the body.
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