Centre sets up 2 more labs for batch testing of Covid-19 vaccines

A health worker administers a dose of Covid-19 vaccine to a beneficiary at a vaccination centre in Mumbai, Sunday, July 4, 2021. Credit: PTI Photo

As the vaccination drive against Covid-19 picks up steam, the central government has set up two more central drug laboratories for testing and pre-release certification of vaccines.

Currently, the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) at Kasauli was the only National Control Laboratory for testing and pre-release certification of immunobiologicals meant for human use in the country.

The two new CDLs have been set up at National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune, and National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, (NIAB) Hyderabad for batch testing and quality control of vaccines.

Both NCCS and NIAB are autonomous research institutes under the department of biotechnology. The funds for setting up the CDL were provided by the PM-CARES Fund.

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The facilities are expected to test approximately 60 batches of vaccines per month.

The facilities are geared up to test existing Covid-19 vaccines and other newer Covid-19 vaccines as per demand in the country.

The new CDLs will not only expedite the vaccine manufacture and supply but also be logistically convenient considering that both Pune and Hyderabad are vaccine manufacturing hubs of the country.