DCGI nod for Covid-19 vaccine emergency use likely in 2 weeks: Report

On Tuesday, UK became the first western country to rollout mass vaccination against the coronavirus

The government may allow emergency use of Covid-19 vaccine in two weeks, paving way for a much-awaited nationwide immunisation programme, according to report by Mint, quoting sources in the Health Ministry.

The officials of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) said that a subject expert panel of Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation is scheduled to meet this week to decide the most suitable vaccine candidate for rollout.

On Tuesday, the UK became the first western country to rollout mass vaccination against the novel coronavirus.

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India is currently fast-tracking vaccine approval to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed over 1.4 lakh people, making the nation the worst affected after the United States.

Pfizer was the first firm to approach DCGI for emergency use approval for its messenger-RNA vaccine that has produced robust efficacy against the virus in its US trials.

Adar Poonawalla-led Serum Institute of India on Sunday approached DCGI for emergency use nod for Astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccine. In addition, on Monday, Bharat Biotech also applied for approval for its vaccine, Covaxin.

“We will have a meeting this week to review the proposals of the vaccine manufacturers. A group of scientists and experts will make a summary and submit it to the higher authorities for further review," said a senior official at the CDSCO.

“All the safety issues will be considered before giving emergency authorization. The public wants a safe and effective vaccine for Covid-19 and for gaining public confidence, we need to be very careful before taking any decision," the official said.

Meanwhile, a report by the Hindustan Times stated that the clinical trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be based on two full doses and a result is expected within two weeks. The vaccine has shown 62 per cent efficacy for two full dose trials and 90 per cent efficacy when the first shot was half-strength dose, followed by a full dose at least one month apart.