NEW DELHI: The UK on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve the coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca. India is likely to follow suit soon.
The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest producer of vaccines, has already produced almost 50 million doses of Covishield, the local name for the vaccine in India. It is now awaiting emergency use approval from the Indian regulator, which could come very soon now that the UK has given the green light.
India is also considering emergency use authorization applications for vaccines made by Pfizer Inc with BioNTech of Germany and by Bharat Biotech.
However, all eyes are on the Oxford vaccine, as it has been called India’s best bet against the pandemic. This is why:
Logistics: Some of the most promising vaccine candidates need to be stored in cold or icy conditions, as low as -80 degrees Celsius, right until they are administered.
While the Oxford-AstraZeneca candidate should be kept only in cold conditions, Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines should be kept deep frozen.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine would pose less of a logistical challenge in India, as it requires storage at home refrigerator temperatures (2 to 8 degrees Celsius).
Production: One of the biggest advantages that the Oxford vaccine has over the others is that the Serum Institute, based in Pune, produces it locally in mass.
The company has already stocked around 50 million doses of the vaccine and aims to produce up to 100 million doses per month by March next year.
Serum CEO Adar Poonawalla has said that most of the first 50 million doses will go to India.
costWhile the exact cost of the vaccine has not yet been estimated, both the company and government sources have indicated that it should be inexpensive.
In an interview in November, Poonawalla had said that the required two doses of the vaccine would cost less than Rs 1,000.
The global average cost of the vaccine is expected to be around $ 3.40, which is a fraction of the price of Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech injections.
Official sources had previously said that the Indian government, which will make massive purchases of the vaccine, has negotiated a good price.
Effectiveness: The overall efficacy of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine in preventing symptomatic infections was 70.4%, compared to the 95% efficacy of the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna injection.
The efficacy of the single dose was set at 52.7%, Britain said Wednesday, as guidance for healthcare workers, although a UK medical adviser also said a dose of AstraZeneca should be 70% effective. after three weeks.
In India, government sources have said that updated trail data presented by Serum also turned out to be “satisfactory”.
Meanwhile, a panel of experts from the Central Medicines Control Organization (CDSCO) that met on Wednesday to consider the application for authorization for emergency use of Serum and Bharat Biotech will meet again on January 1 to further deliberate on The issue.
How does it workThe Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine is based on a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) in chimpanzees that has been genetically modified to prevent Covid-19 from replicating in humans.
It delivers genetic cargo to cells, instructing them on how to fight SARS-CoV-2.
The Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use a new technology that packages messenger RNA (mRNA) into tiny droplets of fat to instruct cells to produce spike protein.
(With inputs from agencies)
The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest producer of vaccines, has already produced almost 50 million doses of Covishield, the local name for the vaccine in India. It is now awaiting emergency use approval from the Indian regulator, which could come very soon now that the UK has given the green light.
India is also considering emergency use authorization applications for vaccines made by Pfizer Inc with BioNTech of Germany and by Bharat Biotech.
However, all eyes are on the Oxford vaccine, as it has been called India’s best bet against the pandemic. This is why:
Logistics: Some of the most promising vaccine candidates need to be stored in cold or icy conditions, as low as -80 degrees Celsius, right until they are administered.
While the Oxford-AstraZeneca candidate should be kept only in cold conditions, Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines should be kept deep frozen.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine would pose less of a logistical challenge in India, as it requires storage at home refrigerator temperatures (2 to 8 degrees Celsius).
Production: One of the biggest advantages that the Oxford vaccine has over the others is that the Serum Institute, based in Pune, produces it locally in mass.
The company has already stocked around 50 million doses of the vaccine and aims to produce up to 100 million doses per month by March next year.
Serum CEO Adar Poonawalla has said that most of the first 50 million doses will go to India.
costWhile the exact cost of the vaccine has not yet been estimated, both the company and government sources have indicated that it should be inexpensive.
In an interview in November, Poonawalla had said that the required two doses of the vaccine would cost less than Rs 1,000.
The global average cost of the vaccine is expected to be around $ 3.40, which is a fraction of the price of Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech injections.
Official sources had previously said that the Indian government, which will make massive purchases of the vaccine, has negotiated a good price.
Effectiveness: The overall efficacy of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine in preventing symptomatic infections was 70.4%, compared to the 95% efficacy of the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna injection.
The efficacy of the single dose was set at 52.7%, Britain said Wednesday, as guidance for healthcare workers, although a UK medical adviser also said a dose of AstraZeneca should be 70% effective. after three weeks.
In India, government sources have said that updated trail data presented by Serum also turned out to be “satisfactory”.
Meanwhile, a panel of experts from the Central Medicines Control Organization (CDSCO) that met on Wednesday to consider the application for authorization for emergency use of Serum and Bharat Biotech will meet again on January 1 to further deliberate on The issue.
How does it workThe Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine is based on a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) in chimpanzees that has been genetically modified to prevent Covid-19 from replicating in humans.
It delivers genetic cargo to cells, instructing them on how to fight SARS-CoV-2.
The Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use a new technology that packages messenger RNA (mRNA) into tiny droplets of fat to instruct cells to produce spike protein.
(With inputs from agencies)
.
