Things to know about Biological-E's COVID vaccine | Fusion - WeRIndia

While the country is trembling with the second wave of COVID-19, many people warn the third wave may hit the country soon. Experts suggest mass vaccination can save the country from the ill effects of the third wave. Hence, the government is seeking ways for it.

In this context, the Centre booked 30 crores doses of COVID vaccine made by Biological-E. The government agreed to pay ₹1,500 crores to the company for this.

Here are some points to know about the vaccine:

• Biological-E’s COVID vaccine is the second Made-in-India product. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is the first indigenous vaccine.
• The company will manufacture the vaccine and supply the doses from August to December.
• The Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of Biological-E’s vaccine showed promising results. Currently, the vaccine is in Phase 3 clinical trials.
• While approving the vaccine, the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) studied the results.
• The Department of Biotechnology supported the vaccine by providing funds of ₹100 crores. It will also be a partner in various studies of the company related to the vaccine.
• The government wants to support some new COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Biological-E’s COVID vaccine is one among them.

Biological-E entered into a licensing agreement with Providence Therapeutics Holdings for the production of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in India. The company will conduct clinical trials of Providence’s vaccine in India to get emergency use approval.

It also entered into a separate deal of producing 600 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine annually.

Currently, India is using the Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for the vaccination drive.

Besides, Russia’s Sputnik V will also be used soon for the mass vaccination programme. The government aims at one crore vaccinations per day by August.

In addition to that, the government of India is in talks of getting vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna.

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