The Oxford Covid-19 vaccine is one step away from emergency use authorisation with a government committee of experts sending it to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for approval.

Pune-based Serum Institute of India is manufacturing the Oxford vaccine, Covishield, in a tie-up with pharma major AstraZeneca. Though an expert panel in the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) has recommended the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in India, the DCGI approval is awaited. India’s other vaccine candidate is Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research’s Covaxin. 

Both AstraZeneca-Oxford and Bharat Biotech-ICMR made presentations before the panel on Wednesday. Pfizer had sought more time to present their data. On Saturday, a dry run for vaccination is scheduled in all states. Once the vaccine is cleared by DCGI, the government is looking forward to vaccinate people from this month.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said he will monitor and analyse the dry run in the national capital. He said in this stage, administration, DMs, Doctors and other frontline workers are the priority and that they have to use their past experiences during vaccination. The security personnel have to take care of smooth transportation of the vaccine. The preparations of vaccination is like general elections, the minister said. The purpose of the dry run is to be ready for the actual rollout. Potential recipients of the vaccine will be informed via SMS. After inoculation, electronic certificates will also be provided, the Health Minister said.  

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Like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, two doses of Covishield will be required but it does not need extremely low temperatures for storage, and hence believed to be easier to deliver. It is also cheap and easy to mass produce. Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin showed it was safe and triggered immune responses in an ongoing early-stage trial and is gearing up for the late-stage trial.

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