Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine ‘70% Effective’, Serum Institute Chief Adar Poonawalla Says India Could Give Nod By Year-End

Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) is set to seek emergency regulatory approval of the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trials which showed 70% effectiveness in preventing people from getting infected. It hopes to get a go-ahead by the year-end. Data raises hopes for a faster rollout of the vaccine in India, as the AstraZeneca data exceeds the 50% primary efficacy endpoint set by the Indian drug regulator DCGI as part of its draft guidelines for COVID-19. Serum Institute chief, Adar Poonawalla added that the company has so far stockpiled around 4 crore doses, and will have around 10 crore doses by January. A majority of these will be marked as priority for India. Covishield will be available in the market at Rs 500-600 per dose, and at Rs 220-300 ($3-4) for the government, he added. Two doses of the vaccine will be required. Competing vaccines from Pfizer & Moderna are expected to be priced higher. Though the efficacy of the vaccine is much lower than around 95% achieved by both Pfizer & Moderna, the vaccine holds more promise for India due to its price, simpler supply chain and scalable platform. Vaccine can be stored in normal refrigerated temperature (2-8°C) and does not require the build-up of a sub-zero cooling chain, which makes it easier to transport, store and distribute even in remote areas, unlike the other two.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 24, 2020 02:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).