Oxford COVID-19 vaccine cleared by expert panel for use in India, DCGI to take final call. An expert panel on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) recommended to grant emergency use authorisation for the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, being manufactured by Serum Institute of India. The vaccine has been cleared by the committee, the application will now be sent to Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) V.G. Somani for final approval.
Serum Institute of India has partnered with Oxford-AstraZeneca for conducting clinical trials and manufacturing ‘Covishield’, while Bharat Biotech has collaborated with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to make ‘Covaxin’.
the dry-run of the vaccine is slated to commence tomorrow in all the states and union territories to equip the administration in management of vaccine supply, storage and logistics including cold chain management.
The central government plans to vaccinate nearly 30 crore people in the first phase of drive. It will be offered to one crore healthcare workers, along with 2 crore frontline and essential workers and 27 crore elderly, mostly above the age of 50, with co-morbidities.