3″ January “2021” SOURCE : NEWS AGENCIES
Drug regulator authorises vaccines developed by Oxford University and UK-based AstraZeneca, and another by India’s Bharat Biotech.
India has authorised the emergency use of two coronavirus vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and by local pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech, according to the country’s drug regulator.
At a news briefing on Sunday, Drugs Controller General Dr Venugopal G Somani said both vaccines would be administered in two doses.
The… vaccines of Serum Institute [AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine] and Bharat Biotech are being approved for restricted use in emergency situations,” Somani said, referring to the Indian firm that manufactured the former vaccine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that the fast-track approvals were “a decisive turning point to strengthen a spirited fight” that “accelerates the road to a healthier and COVID-free nation”.
“It would make every Indian proud that the two vaccines that have been given emergency use approval are made in India!” he said on Twitter, calling it a sign of a “self-reliant” country.
Somani told reporters after the briefing that the drug regulator would “never approve anything if there is the slightest safety concern”.
“The vaccines are 100 percent safe,” he said, adding that side effects such as “mild fever, pain and allergy are common for every vaccine”.
An application for a vaccine made by Pfizer Inc is still being reviewed.
India is the second-worst affected country by the coronavirus after the United States, with more than 10.3 million confirmed cases and 149,435 deaths, though its rate of infection has come down significantly from a mid-September peak.
On Saturday, the country staged nationwide drills to start one of the world’s biggest coronavirus vaccination programmes. It saw 25 health workers receive dummy vaccines at each of the centres to be used across the country in a test run before the launch.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan called for a campaign to counter “misleading rumours” that may scare people off getting the vaccine.
SOURCE : NEWS AGENCIES