WHO NOD FOR COVISHIELD VACCINE SOON: POONAWALLA

MUMBAI: The Serum Institute of India will send about 20 million doses of Covishield, the Oxford University-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, to the World Health Organization-backed COVAX initiative in February, and will raise this to 50 million per month from April, while simultaneously selling 30-40 million doses each month to India, its CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Thursday, adding that he expects WHO emergency use authorisation for the vaccine “in the next week or two”.

The full initial procurement of 16.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines — Serum Institute of India’s Covishield, developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc, and Bharat Biotech International’s Covaxin, which it has developed with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) —has been allocated to all states and Union territories in proportion to their healthcare workers database.

“This is the initial lot of supply of vaccine doses and would be continuously replenished in the weeks to come,” the ministry said.

India will treat Covishield and Covaxin “equally”, even though the latter’s drug’s efficacy has not been proven, and people will have no choice which they one they get, Vinod K Paul, who heads the government panel on vaccine strategy, told news agency Reuters.

“No vaccine is a backup to the other — both vaccines are equally important, both vaccines are hugely immunogenic,” he said. “They excite immunity against the virus.”

Administering Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin has worried some health experts who consider it rushed, as the vaccine has only limited, “clinical-trial mode” approval.

Meanwhile, states have been advised to organise vaccination sessions taking into account 10% reserve/wastage doses and an average of 100 vaccinations per session per day.

The states and UTs have also been advised to increase the number of vaccination session sites that would be operational every day in a progressive manner as the vaccination process stabilises and moves forward.

According to the government, the shots will be offered first to an estimated 10 million health care workers, and around 20 million frontline workers, and then to persons above 50 years of age, followed by persons younger than 50 years of age with associated comorbidities.

Cost of vaccination of healthcare and frontline workers will be borne by the central government.