2 Covid vaccines, 1 pill okayed in a single day

    28-Dec-2021
|
NEW DELHI, Dec 28
India has cleared two more Covid vaccines and one pill today. The two latest vaccines approved by drug regulator CDSCO are Corbevax and Covovax. The anti-viral drug Molnupiravir can be used only in an emergency, informed Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
In a tweet, the Minister said, "Congratulations India. Further strengthening the fight against COVID-19, CDSCO, @MoHFW_INDIA has given 3 approvals in a single day for: - CORBEVAX vaccine - COVOVAX vaccine - Anti-viral drug Molnupiravir For restricted use in an emergency situation".
The announcement by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday came a day after the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) recommended granting emergency use authorisation (EUA) to the COVID-19 vaccines Covovax and Corbevax with certain conditions.
It also had recommended granting restricted emergency use approval to the drug Molnupiravir for treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 and who have high risk of progression of the disease.
With this approval, the number of Covid vaccines which have received emergency use authorisation in the country has increased to eight.
So far six COVID-19 vaccines -- Serum Institute's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D, Russia's Sputnik V and the US-made Moderna and Johnson and Johnson -- have received emergency use authorisation from the Indian drug regulator.
CORBEVAX vaccine is India's 1st indigenously developed RBD protein sub-unit vaccine against COVID-19, Made by Hyderabad-based firm Biological-E.
The Nanoparticle Vaccine, COVOVAX, will be manufactured by Pune-based firm Serum Institute of India.
Molnupiravir, an antiviral drug,  will now be manufactured in the country by 13 companies for restricted use under emergency situation for the treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 and who have a high risk of progression of the disease.
With 6,358 people testing positive for coronavirus infections in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,47,99,691.The active cases have declined to 75,456, according to the data updated at 8 am. The death toll has climbed to 4,80,290 with 293 fresh fatalities, the data stated.
India has logged 653 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus across 21 States and UTs so far out of which 186 have recovered or migrated, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.
Livemint