New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Tuesday said that a nasal vaccine for Covid19 disease by Bharat Biotech is in the clinical trial stage of development in India.
"An intranasal vaccine candidate (BBV154), is under development by Bharat Biotech International Limited. This vaccine candidate is in the early clinical stage of development in India. The interval period between the two doses is presently 21 days. The schedule will be finalised after the phase I clinical trial data. Currently, in Phase I clinical trial, single-dose and two doses schedule are being tested," Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare said in Rajya Sabha.
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Most vaccines are administered by injection through intramuscular or subcutaneous route. But, intranasal vaccines are administered as a nasal spray and offer a needle-free approach towards vaccine administration.
At present, India's two Covid19 vaccines COVAXIN and COVISHIELD are being administered via injections. A beneficiary needs to take two doses of one vaccine within an interval of 28 days. The vaccines are currently not authorised by the Central Drug Control Organisation (CDSCO) for sale in the open market in the country.
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Presently, both the vaccines are being provided free of cost by the central government to all states and UTs for the vaccination of prioritized beneficiary groups of health care workers and frontline workers.
"For persons above 60 years of age and those between 45 to less than 60 years of age with co-morbidities, the vaccination in government facilities is free of costs whereas in private facilities the ceiling charge for per person per dose is Rs 250," said Chaubey.
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Chaubey further said that due to the dynamic nature of the Covid19 pandemic and inclusion of new priority groups, no specific time frame can be indicated at present, for the completion of the vaccination. As of the first week of March, a total of nine states and UTs have administered the first dose of the Covid19 vaccine to more than 90 percent of the registered health care workers in Ladakh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Lakshadweep.
In another development, Chaubey informed in the Lok Sabha that the department of pharmaceuticals launched three schemes for promoting domestic manufacturing of critical materials, drug intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) by attracting large scale investment in the sector to ensure sustainable domestic supply.
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Chaubey also informed that a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the promotion of bulk drug parks and pharmaceuticals has been launched to ensure domestic availability. As per government statistics, 66.53 percent of raw materials has been imported from China in 2018, 72.40 percent in 2019 and 72.15 percent of raw materials has been imported from China in 2020.
