Two more COVID-19 vaccines approved under EUA

India approved two more vaccines, Corbevax and Covovax, against COVID-19 under emergency use authorization (EUA). These vaccines got approval for administration to adults aged above 18 years. Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, tweeted on this matter yesterday.

Corbevax is manufactured by Hyderabad-based Biological-E. It is a protein subunit vaccine. The vaccine is co-developed by Biological E, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and Dynavax Technologies, USA.

Covovax is manufactured by Serum Institute of India, Pune under licence from Novavax, a US-based company. It is a nanoparticle-based vaccine.

World Health Organisation (WHO) approved Covovax under Emergency Use Listing to ensure more people across the globe get vaccinated. The vaccine is available as part of the COVAX facility.

Currently, Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V are used in India’s vaccination programme. There is no update on the inclusion of Corbevax and Covovax vaccines in the country’s vaccination drive.

Recently, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) approved Molnupiravir for the treatment of COVID-19 patients with mild and moderate symptoms. The drug showed promising results in clinical trials. Besides, the administration of the drug is easy as it can be consumed as a pill.

In this context, thirteen companies in the country get readied to manufacture the drug. This drug has been approved under EUA to treat COVID-19 patients who have a risk of progression.

The FDA, in its recent statement, said that Molnupiravir is effective in treating COVID-19. However, extra caution shall be taken while prescribing the drug. It shall be prescribed only to certain adults where it is clinically appropriate.

The drug should not be used as preventive medicine. FDA approved Paxlovid manufactured by Pfizer Inc. under EUA. However, the drug is yet to get approval in India.

Meanwhile, Cipla is planning to launch Molnupiravir under the brand name Cipmolnu.

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