The ZyCov-D vaccine from Zydus Cadila is the first to be licenced by India’s drug authority for vaccination of people aged 12 and up.
Covid, a DNA-based vaccine developed in India, has been given the green light by India’s Union Health Ministry to begin preliminary work for its launch as part of the country’s vaccination campaign, according to sources.
Following repeated discussions with the government, the price of Zydus Cadila’s COVID-19 vaccination has been reduced to $265 per dose.
Zydus Cadila’s ZyCov-D vaccine is the first in India to be approved by the country’s medicines regulator for use in children as young as 12 years old.
Disposable needle-free jet applicators cost $93 per dose, bringing the total cost per dose to $358.
According to sources, the Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical firm previously requested a price of Rs. 1,900 for its three-dose regimen.
Following repeated government negotiations, it has been reduced to 358 rupees, including 93 rupees for the disposable jet applicator. A source told the news agency PTI that this was true.
Each dose will be administered over the course of 28 days, with each treatment consisting of a shot in both arms.
The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has yet to make a recommendation on ZyCoV-D vaccinations for adults and children with co-morbidities (NTAGI).
NTAGI will provide the protocol and framework for incorporating this vaccine into the COVID-19 immunisation campaign.
ZyCoV-D costs more than Covaxin and Covishield because it requires the use of a specialised pharma jet injector, which is more expensive than Covaxin.
This pharma jet injector has the capacity to deliver approximately 20,000 doses.
According to a CNN source, jet applicators allow vaccination fluid to penetrate skin and enter recipient cells.
According to a source familiar with the situation, Zydus Cadila has the capacity to produce two million dosages in November.
COVID-19 vaccination in the United States is now being supplemented by the purchase of two additional vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin.
Unlike ZyCoV-D, Covishield, Covaxin, and Sputnik V have two-dose regimens for those over the age of 18.
So far, 19 vaccinations have been administered to over 106 million people in India.
Beginning on January 16, healthcare workers were the first to be immunised across the country. The immunisation of frontline employees began on February 2nd.
COVID-19 vaccinations for people over 60 and those with certain co-morbid conditions began on March 1
Beginning April 1, people over the age of 45 were required to be vaccinated. As part of its immunisation campaign, the government agreed on May 1 to allow everyone over the age of 18 to be vaccinated.
