Government to buy 1 Crore doses of Zydus Cadila vaccine

November 8, 2021 Hot from the Oven Valli Sarvani No comments

The government is all set to procure the vaccine of Zydus Cadila. Today, the company said that the central government placed an order for one crore doses of ZyCoV-D at ₹265.

So far, three vaccines – Covishield, Covaxin, and Sputnik V have been administered in India’s immunisation drive. ZyCoV-D is the fourth COVID-19 vaccine.

While the first three vaccines are being administered only to individuals above 18 years of age, ZyCoV-D has been approved for adolescents also. Besides, these three vaccines are two-dose regimens.

ZyCoV-D is a three-dose COVID-19 vaccine, which has been given emergency use authorization for adults and children above 12. Thus, it will be the first vaccine to be administered to adolescents in the country.

ZyCoV-D is the world’s first DNA-based Covid-19 vaccine. This needleless vaccine will be administered through a needle-free applicator. This applicator is priced ₹93 per dose, excluding GST. Thus, each dose of ZyCoV-D, including the applicator costs ₹358, excluding taxes.

The vaccine has mainly the following advantages: As it is an intradermal vaccine, and is administered through a needle-free applicator, it reduces pain at the injection site. This vaccine does not need ultra-cold storage systems like mRNA vaccines. Hence, it can be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius and suited for India’s environment. The vaccine does not need huge setups and can be manufactured with minimum biosafety requirements.

The second dose of the ZyCoV-D vaccine will be given on the 28th day, while the third dose on the 56th day.

As per sources, the government is waiting for the recommendation from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) for introducing ZyCoV-D in the vaccination drive. The NTAGI is discussing the matter, and the vaccine will be available in November after getting its nod.

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