The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given restricted emergency approval for two Covid-19 vaccines following a recommendation by the Subject Expert Committee of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). One of the approved vaccines is Covaxin, which has been developed domestically by Bharat Biotech, a company based in Hyderabad. The other vaccine is Covishield, which has been developed by AstraZeneca in association with Oxford University and produced in India by Serum Institute of India, based in Pune.
India’s CDSCO has permitted Cadila Healthcare to conduct Phase III clinical trials on its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, ZyCoV-D. Developed using the company’s DNS platform technology, the novel coronavirus vaccine is currently undergoing phase I/II trials in 1,000 participants in India. Its safety and immunogenicity have been demonstrated during the trials, in which three doses of the vaccine were administered intradermally, interim data showed.
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Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) has given an approval to Fiocruz to import two million doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine even before approving the vaccine in the country. Fiocruz is a public health research and development institution affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The exceptional import approval was given to ensure availability of the jabs once ANVISA approves the vaccine.
